· The fact that there are only seven Legislative Councils suggests the lack of any real advantage, apart from the absence of a broad political consensus on the issue.
· Two Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 for establishing Legislative Councils in Assam and Rajasthan are still pending, indicating the lack of support for such a move.
· Now Odisha wants to join the group of States that have an Upper House as the State Cabinet has approved a 49-member Legislative Council.
· The process of creating an Upper House is lengthy.
· The State Assembly has to pass a resolution for the creation of the Council by a majority of its total membership. Thereafter, Parliament has to enact a law to create it.
· A parliamentary committee wanted a national policy on having an Upper House in State legislatures to be framed by the Union government, so that a subsequent government doesn’t abolish it.
· It also favoured a review of the provision in the law for Councils to have seats for graduates and teachers.
· An Upper House provides a forum for academicians and intellectuals, who are arguably not suited for the rough and tumble of electoral politics.
· Rather than fulfilling the lofty objective of getting intellectuals into the legislature, the forum is likely to be used to accommodate party functionaries who fail to get elected.
· It is also an unnecessary drain on the exchequer.
· Another issue is that graduates are no longer a rare breed; also, with dipping educational standards, a graduate degree is no guarantee of any real intellectual heft.
· There are enough numbers of doctors, teachers and other professionals in most political parties today.
· The Rajya Sabha’s case is different as it represents the States rather than electoral constituencies.
· It is also a restraining force against the dominance of elected majorities in legislative matters.
· Legislative Councils are subject to varied and inconclusive discussions around their creation, revival and abolishment.
· Given all this, Odisha’s proposal may give the country at large an opportunity to evolve a national consensus on Legislative Councils.
Source : The Hindu