MP Manish Tewari seeks RS seat for Chandigarh

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 9

City MP Manish Tewari today moved the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha to provide for a Rajya Sabha seat for the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

In the Private Member Bill, Tewari mentioned that Article 80 stipulates the composition of the Council of States. Article 80 (5) states that the representatives of the Union Territories in the Council of States also called the Upper House or Rajya Sabha shall be chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law prescribe.

He stated that the UTs of Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir and the National Capital Territory of Delhi find representation in the Council of States, while those of Ladakh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli – Daman and Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are unrepresented in the council.

“A special law in terms of Article 80 (5) of the Constitution therefore needs to be enacted to provide representation to the unrepresented Union Territories in the Council of States. The proposed Bill is however specific to providing representation to the Union Territory of Chandigarh in the Council of States,” said Tewari.

The Bill provides that one person shall be elected to the Council of States from Chandigarh. Just as the Delhi Metropolitan Council served as the electoral college for electing three persons to the Council of States from Delhi from 1966 to 1990, it is proposed that the elected members of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh shall constitute the electoral college for the purpose of providing representation to Chandigarh in the Council of States.

The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution with a view to providing one seat to the Union Territory of Chandigarh in the Council of States. The representative would be elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh constituted under the Punjab Municipal Corporation (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1994. On financial memorandum, Tewari said the Bill provided for the allocation of one seat in the Council of States to the Union territory of Chandigarh. The Bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India. It is likely to involve an annual recurring expenditure of about Rs 2 lakh from the Consolidated Fund of India. No non-recurring expenditure is likely to be involved, he added.

Cutting across party lines, the Municipal Corporation House gave approval to a Rajya Sabha seat for Chandigarh on February 28, 2022. Additionally, councillors also favoured a Legislative Assembly for Chandigarh.