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
16th Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Indian Parliament, were elected to 16th Lok Sabha after the Indian general elections, 2014. With the by-elections and vacancies since 2014, BJP has been reduced to 269 seats from 282 seats (including Speaker); while INC has increased its tally from 44 seats to 47 seats. Following 36 political parties are represented in 16th Lok Sabha: About one-third of all winners had at least one pending criminal case against them, with some having serious criminal cases. Compared to the 15th Lok Sabha, there is an increase of members with criminal cases. In 2009, 158 (30%)