Correct Answer – Option 4 : 1, 2 and 5 only

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 5 only.

• India has a bicameral system of legislature. Just as Parliament has two Houses, the states can also have a Legislative Council in addition to the Legislative Assembly through Article 169 of the Constitution.
• Six States which have a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka.
  • Recently, the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council has been abolished through the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2019, which reduced the State of J&K to the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.

• The Constitution provides for the abolition or creation of legislative councils in states.
• Accordingly, the Parliament can abolish a legislative council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist), if the legislative assembly of the concerned state passes a resolution to that effect.
• Such a specific resolution must be passed by the state assembly by a special majority, that is, a majority of the total membership of the assembly and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the assembly present and voting.
• This Act of Parliament is not to be deemed as an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368 and is passed like an ordinary piece of legislation (ie, by simple majority).
• The legislative assembly consists of representatives directly elected by the people on the basis of universal adult franchise.
  • Its maximum strength is fixed at 500 and minimum strength at 60.
• Unlike the members of the legislative assembly, the members of the legislative council are indirectly elected.
  • The maximum strength of the council is fixed at one-third of the total strength of the assembly and the minimum strength is fixed at 40