What is the Full Form of MLC?

MLC: Member of the Legislative Council

MLC is an acronym that stands for "Member of the Legislative Council," whereas the Legislative Council of any state is also known as Vidhan Parishad. Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council of any state of India is the upper house of the state legislature whose members are partially recommended and partially voted in by respective bodies. The local bodies, i.e., municipalities, members of the legislative assembly, governors, teachers, and graduates, opt for the Legislative Council member.

The Legislative Council is a permanent body as it cannot be dissolved; still, it can be abolished anytime whenever the legislative assembly altogether, with the parliament's approval, passes a decision for terminating it. The Legislative Council is an operating system at the state level and is framed under Articles 169, 171(1), and 171(2) in the constitution of India. Recently, the Vidhan Parishad is governing in the seven states of India.

Following are the seven states in which the legislative council is currently present:

• Bihar,
• Karnataka,
• Uttar Pradesh,
• Maharashtra,
• Telangana,
• Andhra Pradesh and,
• Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

The Working period for the MLC

The working period for the legislative council representative is six years. However, one-third of the total number of the Vidhan Parishad departs every two years. The voting done to choose the Legislative Council member is in a roundabout way by the proportional representation system.

How a member of Vidhan Parishad is elected

The total members in a Vidhan Parishad should be more than 40, but their total strength can't be more than the one-third strength of the state's legislative assembly.

• Members of the legislative assembly cast their vote for the one-third strength of the Legislative Council's members.
• The local bodies of a state, i.e., municipalities, also vote for the one-third strength.
• The teachers who are residents of the concerned state should not be down from the rank of secondary school level vote for the One- twelfth of the Legislative Council members.
• Graduates of the concerned state who are also the residents of that state can also cast their vote for the One-twelfth of the total members of the Vidhan Parishad.
• The governor who has the professional and specialized command over the subject such as art, science, literature, and technology also contribute in the election by voting one-sixth of the total members of the Legislative Council.

Powers of MLC

Following is a list of power assigned to the Legislative Council:

1. Legislative power - House of the state legislature can present or introduce an ordinary or non-money bill. Still, it needs the approval of both the houses for converting into a law. The bill is first moved to the Legislative assembly and then passes to the Legislative Council for the amendments. The Legislative assembly can accept or deny the modification made by the Legislative Council, and the same bill that was introduced by the assembly can be passed again without any changes in it. Basically, in the first precedent, the legislative Council can delay the bill for three months, but the legislative Council cannot delay the bill for more than a month for the second time. In contrast, a non-money bill can be a delay for four months.

The Vidhan Parishad has the following four options:

• Council can pass the bill
• Council can reject the bill
• Council can make modifications or amendments to the bill
• Council can choose to take no actions regarding the bill

2. Financial Powers- In the aspect of financial power, the legislative Council do not have much authority. The Legislative assembly has the power to introduce the money bill, and after its passage, the bill goes to the Council, which has to be returned within 14days by the Council. The Council can make a particular suggestion regarding the bill, but it's up to the assembly to accept or deny the suggestions. If the Council delays the bill for more than 14days, the bill gets passed even if the Council does not pass it.

3. Executive Powers- The Council does not hold much executive power. Only the legislative assembly is answerable by the State council of ministers. Therefore, the state council of ministers is not accountable to the Legislative Council. The Council, however, shows few commands over the state ministry by seeking additional questions to the ministers.

The Legislative Council does not hold enough power and has any actual control, and this is the only reason that many states do not prefer to have the legislative Council.