The two houses of the Indian Parliament have been conceived under a system of checks and balances.It is the Lok Sabha which has to debate the various issues and enable passing meaningful resolutions.The Rajya Sabha is to provide the necessary caution. It devolved on the political parties and within them to speak for the different interests and represent them in the parliament. No amount of tinkering with the constitution will improve matters if the Political party does not itself agree to be inclusive in their outlook. On the contrary they have become exclusivist in their outlook and hence un representative of the larger national identity and interests. The Houses of Parliament reflect the narrow sectarian concerns of the political parties.The Houses of Parliament has become houses of privelege for all kinds of people.Witness the unanimous passing of bills concerning the members salary and perks. The office of profit is another issue that has been dealt in a most partisan manner. All these instances point to the fact that Upper House is steadily losing its preeminence as a distinctly functioning house.Maybe it is time to merge these houses into a single House.
