UNITARY FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION. [ PART 2 ]: UPSC Daily Important Topic | 25 November 2021

◇ The process of constitutional amendment is less rigid than what is found in other federations.

◇ The bulk of the Constitution can be amended by the unilateral action of the Parliament, either by a simple majority or by a special majority.

◇ Further, the power to initiate an amendment to the Constitution lies only with the Centre.

◇ The states are given representation in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of population. Hence, the membership varies from 1 to 31.

◇ The Constitution stipulates three types of emergencies–national, state and financial.

◇ During an emergency, the Central government becomes all powerful and the states go into the total control of the Centre. It converts the federal structure into a unitary one without a formal amendment of the Constitution.