The Legislature and the Executive
(Longman Pearson)
I. Fill in the blanks.
1. The Indian Parliament is divided into two houses: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
2. The law-making body is known as Legislature.
3. The body that enforces the law made by the Parliament is called Judiciary.
4. The presiding officer of the Lok Sabha is Speaker.
5. Members to the Rajya Sabha are nominated by President.
6. The Prime Minister and his Council of Minister are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
7. The Vice-President officiates as the president when the president's seat falls vacant.
8. The prime minister holds office for a period of five years.
II. Write their names.
1. The current President of India.
= Droupadi Murmu (as of 2022);
2. The current Prime Minister of India.
= Narendra Modi (as of 2022);
3. The current Leader of the Opposition.
= Mallikarjun Kharge (in Rajya Sabha) vacant (in Lok Sabha) (as of 2022);
4. The current Vice-President of India.
= Jagdeep Dhankhar (as of 2022);
III. State whether true or false.
1. The prime minister is the head of our country. [F]
2. The president is directly elected by the people of India. [F]
3. The Vice-President can be removed by the president if he so wishes. [F]
4. The president is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. [F]
5. The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the president. [F]
IV. Answer these questions.
1. Mention the composition of the Lok Sabha.
= The composition of the Lok Sabha are:
❐ The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is 552. Out of the 552 members, 530 ate elected directly by the people from the different territorial constituencies in different states.
❐ Not more than twenty members may be elected from the union territories.
❐ Two members may be nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community, if they are not adequately represented.
❐ At present, the Lok Sabha has 545 members in all.
2. What is the difference between a bicameral and a unicameral legislature?
= Bicameral legislature means it has two houses. For example: Indian legislature has two houses - the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Unicameral legislature has only one house. For example: Bangladesh's parliament called 'Jatiyo Sangsad' is a unicameral legislature.
3. How are the members of the Rajya Sabha elected?
= The members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies. The President can nominate twelve eminent members of the society to the Rajya Sabha who have excelled in the fields of literature, art, science and social work.
4. State the conditions one has to fulfil to be a member of Lok Sabha.
= These are the basic qualifications required to become a member of the Lok Sabha.
❐ He/she must be an Indian citizen.
❐ He/she must be 25 years of age.
❐ He/she must have his/her name on the electoral list in any part of the country.
5. What qualifications are required to be a member of Rajya Sabha?
= The basic qualifications required to be a member of the Rajya Sabha are:
❐ He /she must be an Indian citizen.
❐ He/she must be more than thirty years of age.
❐ He/she should be mentally sound.
❐ He/she should not hold an office of profit under the government.
6. How can a member of the Lok Sabha lose his/her seat?
= A member of Lok Sabha losses his/her seat if he or she is found to conduct any action against the constitution. He or she also losses his/her seat when the parliament is disbanded.
7. Who is the speaker of the Lok Sabha? What are the functions of the speaker?
= The speaker is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha. The Speaker is elected for a period of five years.
He/she presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha and maintains the discipline of he House.
8. With regard to the powers and functions of the Lok Sabha, write briefly on the following:
i. Legislative functions.
= The Parliament is empowered to make new laws or modify the ones already existing on the subjects included in the Union or the concurrent list. It may pass laws of the subjects included in the State List under certain circumstances. Only the Parliament can introduce a bill to amend the constitution.
ii. Financial powers.
= The Union Parliament has the custody of national purse. The finance minister presents the budget passed by the parliament in the last week of February every year. The Parliament may suggest a cut in the budget or reject it altogether. A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha.
iii. How Lok Sabha controls the executive/Control over government.
= The The Council of Ministers is answerable to the Parliament for all their policies and actions. A Veto of non-confidence passed by the Parliament will amount to the resignation of the entire ministry. The members of the Parliament can check the working of the government by discussing the policies of the government and putting questions across to them. Adjournment motions may be passed by the Parliament to discuss the matters that require immediate attention of the government.
9. Who elects the president of India? Who forms the electoral collage which elects the President?
= Since the President is the nominal head of the Indian Union, he/she is elected indirectly by the members of he electoral collage that consists of these members.
The forms of electoral collage that elects the President are:
❐ Elected members of both the houses of the Parliament.
❐ Elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies.
10. Explain the emergency powers of the President.
= The President is empowered to declare an emergency under these conditions.
❐ In case of breakdown of the administrative machinery of a state presidential rule is imposed in that state.
❐ To declare national emergency in case the country's security is threatened by external aggression or by armed rebellion.
❐ To declare financial emergency if financial stability of the country is threatened.
11. Who can be the Vice-President of India?
= The Vice-President must possess the same qualifications as the President except that he/she must be eligible to be a member of the Rajya Sabha.
12. Why is the President of India known as the de jure head of the Indian Union?
= The President of India is known as the de jure head of the Indian Union because in a Parliamentary form of government, the actual power lies with the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
13. What is the executive role of the President of India?
= The President appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Governors of States, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the Hight Courts, the Comptroller and Auditor general, members of the Union Public Service Commission and Chief Commissioners of the Union Territories. In addition, the President also appoints the ambassadors to other countries. He/she is the supreme commander of he defence forces and all contracts and treaties are signed in his/her name.
14. Under what circumstances can the President of India use his discretionary powers?
= When no political party wins clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the President can use the discretionary powers and select a member of choice as the Prime Minister.
However, the President's power is not unbound, and is subject to approval of he Parliament, as in the case of declaration of emergency. He/she has to function closely with the Parliament to dispense his/her powers.
15. The Prime Minister is the leader of the nation and the virtual ruler of the country. With reference to this, answer these questions.
a) Who elects the Prime Minister of India?
= The party that wins the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha forms the government. The leader of e majority party is invited by the president to form the government and he receives the designation of Prime Minister.
b) What is the tenure of the Prime Minister?
= The tenure of Prime Minister is five years.
c) Why is he/she called the de facto head of our country?
= He/she is called the de facto head of our country because he is the real head of the executive and the President acts on the advice of the Prime Minister.
16. What are the functions of the Prime Minister of India?
= The Prime Minister performs varied functions. He/she acts as the link between the legislature and the executive and imparts duties both in the executive and as well as in the legislature:
❐ The Prime Minister selects some members of the Parliament to form a Council of Ministers.
❐ As the leader of the Lok Sabha and the head of he Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister can intervene in the discussion of the Parliament.
❐ He/she communicates all decisions of the council of minsters to the president.