The Vice President of India is the second highest position in the country. The Indian Vice-President office is modeled in the lines of American Vice-President. But we cannot expect the equal powers and functions of American Vice-President.
Indian Polity Notes – Video
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The Vice President Of India
Election Format
- The Vice President election will be conducted in the same manner like President.
- The system of proportional representation by many of single transferable vote and voting will be conducted through the method of the secret ballot.
Who will vote
- For the vice president election both the elected and nominated members of Parliament which is called as the electoral college will vote.
Comparing with President election
- But in case of President only elected members of Parliament to have the right to vote.
- And also in the case of President, the members of state legislative assemblies will vote.
Qualifications to become a Vice-President
- He should (must) be a citizen of India.
- He should have completed 35 years of age.
- He should be Qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
- He should not hold any office of Profit under the state (or) union (or) any local (or) any public authority.
- The nomination of a Vice-President candidate should be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and 20 electors as seconders.
- Every Vice-President candidate has to pay a deposit of Rs.15,000/- in the Reserve Bank of India.
Vice-President condition of office
- The Indian constitution said two conditions for the office of Vice-President.
- While entering into his office of Vice-President, he should not a member of either house of parliament (or) a state legislative. If any such person elected as Vice-President, then he should vacate his seat in the house on the date on which he enters upon his office as Vice-President.
- He should not hold any other office of Profit.
Vice-President – the term of office
- He can hold the office of Vice-President for the term 5 years.
- However, he has full rights to resign from his position by addressing his resignation to the President of India.
Removal
- He can be removed from the office before his term completion by impeachment.
- Passing a resolution in the Rajya Sabha with a majority of the total members of the house and agreed by Lok-sabha will remove the Vice-President from his office.
Excess term
- Vice-President can hold the office beyond his term period of five years until his successor assumes the office.
- Indian vice-president is eligible for the re-election to that office.
- There is no lap for his election attempt. He can be elected for any number of times.
Vice-President office vacancy
The Vice-President office can occur vacancy in any of the following ways.
- On the expiry of the term of 5 years.
- By resignation
- On his removal
- By his death
- Otherwise, disqualified by his election is declared void.
- In any of the above reason, the Vice-President office should not be vacant above six months.
- It should be filled as soon as the office goes vacant.
- If the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of sitting Vice – President, then the election to fill the vacancy must be held before the expiration of term.
Powers and function of Vice-President
- He will act as the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are equivalent to the speaker of Lok Sabha.
- In that case, he resembles the Vice-President of America, who also acts as the chairman of the Senate the upper house of American legislature.
- He also acts as the President, if there is any sudden vacancy in the office of President.
- While he acting as the President, he will not discharge the duties of chairman of RajySabhaha. These duties will be hand-over to the deputy chairman of Rajya sabha.
Salary of Vice-President
- Vice-President gets the salary of Rs.1.25 lakhs per month.
- He also get a fully furnished house, medical, travel and other facilities.
- He draws his regular salary in the capacity of Rajya Sabha Chairman.
- In case he is acting as President then he will be paid the salary of President.