New Delhi: Assam is set to get a legislative council nearly 66 years after it was abolished, post Independence.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today approved a proposal to create a Legislative Council in Assam, which has been a long-pending demand of various political parties and ethnic groups of the state.
Assam had an Upper House which was abolished after Independence.
According to the proposal, the Legislative Council will have 42 members.
As per Article 171 of the Constitution, the total number of members in the Council of a state having such a House shall not exceed one third of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that state. In the case of Assam, the total number of MLAs is 126.
The state Legislative Assembly had in 2005 and 2010 passed a resolution demanding an Upper House.
Political parties and groups believe that members of various communities and ethnic, groups which could not be sent to the Assembly, can be accommodated in the Council for a fair representation.
Creation of a Legislative Council was part of Congress' election manifesto in Assam.
A Bill to create a Legislative Council in Rajasthan was introduced in Parliament recently and it is pending with the Standing Committee.
