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KERALA LEGISLATURE - A SKETCH OF EVOLUTION
 

In 1907, the Assembly was conferred the right to select 4 members to the Legislative Council. The year also saw the formation of a legislative committee to look into the system of inheritance and Marumakkathayam. The Sixth to the Eleventh Councils were held during the period from 1904 to 1919.

 

In 1919, a major structural shift occurred by a regulation aimed at broad basing the administration and the powers of the Council. The strength of the Legislative Council was raised to a maximum of 25, with a bare official majority. Provision was made for election to 8 out of the 11 non-official seats. Besides, the members were given the rights to discuss the annual budget and to ask interpellations.

 

Further changes appeared in October 1921, when the strength of the Council was fixed as 50, with 28 elected and 22 nominated elements. Among the nominated members, 7 were to be non-officials. Provision was made for the appointment of a Deputy President, not necessarily an officer, to preside over in the absence of the President. Subject to certain limitations, the Members were given the right to vote on the Budget, to move resolutions on matters of public interest, to ask supplementary questions and to bring adjournment motions.

 

In the 4 Councils (1922-25, 1925-28, 1928-31 and 1931-33), 27 bills were passed. In 1922, 4 Committees were formed for the consideration of the draft-revised rules for the Assembly, assessment of the working of the Government Press, and, consideration of rules governing educational scholarships and the question of accommodation in His Highness the Maharajas College of Trivandrum. A Standing Finance Committee was constituted on 12th January 1923. In April 1923, another Committee was constituted to consider the question of establishing a University of Travancore and to examine the working of PWD Workshops.

 

A parallel development emerged in Cochin, where the Cochin Legislative Council Regulation Act, 1923 provided for a Legislative Council. The First Council (1925-28), with 45 members (30 elected and 15 nominated), was constituted in April 1925, under the President ship of Sri. T. S. Narayana Aiyar. The franchise was based on property and allied qualifications. There were General and Special Constituencies. The Council was allowed to introduce Bills, ask questions, move resolutions and discuss and vote on Budget Demands. In 1926, 2 Select Committees were formed. The First Council passed 8 Bills and the Second Council (1928-31), 20 Bills.

 

Malabar, which was a district of Madras Province under the British rule, had representatives in Madras Legislative Assembly from 1920's.

 

In Travancore, freedom of speech was guaranteed in 1930 by an Amendment to the earlier Regulation. On October 28, 1932, a momentous structural addition was made by the Travancore Legislative Regulation. Bicameralism took a new shape, with the creation of a Lower House, the Sri Mulam Assembly, and an Upper House, the Sri Chitra State Council. The earlier bodies were abolished. In the new Assembly, there were to be 72 members, of whom 62 were to be non-officials. Of the 72 members, 43 were elected by General Constituencies and 5 were from Special Constituencies. 14 seats were reserved for minority communities. The Sri Chitra State Council had 37 members, of whom 27 were non-officials (16 from General Constituencies, 6 from Special Constituencies and 5 nominated). This bicameral setup was established on January 1, 1933. The First Assembly (1933-37) had 9 sessions and passed 102 bills; the First Council passed 58 bills.

 

 Power was given to the Assembly to vote on the Demands for Grants and to reduce or omit any item of the demand. In 1932, a Joint Committee of both the chambers was created. The year witnessed the constitution of the Public Accounts Committee, heralding a tradition of executive accountability.

 

Functionally, the enactments made right from the beginning, ranged from the Jenmy Kudiyan Act of 1896 relating to tenancy rights of agricultural lands to the Factories Act, 1914 and the Trade Union Act, 1937, all of which had weighty impact in the socio-economic scenario.

 

On 12th December 1933, the Viceroy Lord Wellington laid the foundation stone for a new Assembly building at the Northern side of the Secretariat. The new building was opened by Sir. C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar, on 8th February, 1939. On the very next day, (9th February, 1939), the Second Sri Mulam Assembly (1937-44), in its 4th Session met in the new Chamber. A Proclamation dated 18th March 1939, stated that all regulations till then and future enactments were to be styled as Acts.

 

In Cochin, the number of Members of the Council was increased to 54 (36 elected and 18 nominated). Four Advisory Committees were constituted in 1935. In 1938, under the Government of Cochin Act, diarchy was introduced. A Member of Legislature was appointed as Minister to administer certain transferred subjects. The total number of Councils from 1925 to 1948 was 6.  

 

In the years from 1930 to 1936, Malabar sent 5 Members to Madras Legislature. Almost all the Congress candidates were elected in the provincial elections in Malabar, in 1936. Sri. Kongattil Raman Menon was a minister in the C. Rajagopalachary ministry (1937-39).

 

Going back to Travancore, the 3rd Assembly and Council were held from 1944 to 1947 in 4 sessions each. Bicameral set up continued in Cochin till September 4, 1947. The number of Ministers was increased to 4 in 1946. In 1946, the Public Accounts Committee was founded in Cochin Legislature. The enactments in Cochin and Madras too were reformative.

 

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