Rajya Sabha sittings of the Houses of Parliament of India are rare, and in the history of the Republic, only three such joint-sessions have been held; the latest one for the passage of the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Vice President of India (currently, Venkaiah Naidu) is the "ex-officio" Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions. The Deputy Chairman, who is elected from amongst the house's members, takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman. The Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on 13 May 1952. The salary and other benefits
Member of parliament, Lok Sabha India consisted of indirectly elected representatives and were not categorized between Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Muslims and Sikhs were given special representation as minorities. The Constituent Assembly of India took 2 years, 11 months and 17 days to draft the constitution for independent India and was dissolved in 1949. On 26 January 1950, the Indian constitution came into force and the first general elections (under the new constitution) were held in 1951-1952. The 1st Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952 and had 489 constituencies, thereby first set of elected members of parliament of Lok Sabha in India.