CBSE Class 8 Social Science Why Do We Need a Parliament Notes

Why Do We Need a Parliament

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAMENT

1. Legislative Powers :- The Parliament has wide powers in the field of Legislation. It can legislate on those subjects which have been given in the Union List. Besides, Parliament can make laws on those subjects which have been given in the concurrent list. If there is any controversy, the law made by the parliament will prevail.

2. Financial Powers :- Parliament Controls national finances. The annual budget is passed by the Parliament. No tax can be levied by the government without the approval of Parliament. Government cannot spend any money without getting parliament's sanction for it.

3. Control over the Executive :- Parliaments all over the world can criticise and exercise some control over those who run the government. In those countries which have adopted parliamentary form of government, the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Parliament and remains in office as long as it enjoys its confidence. In India, the ministry remains in office as long as parliament has confidence in it. If the parliament loses confidence in the council of ministers the government, including the Prime Minister, has to resign.

4. Amendment of the Constitution :- In India a part of the constitution can be amended by the Parliament alone. For the remaining portion, its ratification by at least fifty percent states is required.

5. Judicial Powers :- Parliament enjoy certain judicial powers also. it can remove the President from office by impeachment. It is also empowered to remove the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. it can take action against any member for violating the discipline of the House.

6. Electoral Powers :- Members of Parliament take part in the election of the President and Vice-President. Speaker of Lok Sabha is also elected by the members of Lok Sabha.

MUTUAL RELATION BETWEEN LOK SABHA AND RAJYA SABHA

Indian Parliament is a Bicameral legislature i.e. it consists of two Houses known as Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States).

1. Passing of Ordinary Laws :- Ordinary bills can be introduced in either house and needs to be passed by both the houses, before it is sent for the approval of the president. If there is a difference of opinion between the two houses for passing a bill, the decision is taken in a joint session of both the houses.

2. Passing of Money Bills :- Money bills or budget can be introduced only in Lok Sabha. If Lok Sabha passes the budget or any money bill, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it, it can only delay if for 14 days.

3. Control Over the Executive :- The Council of Ministers remains in office as long as it enjoys majority in Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha enjoy the power to pass a vote of no confidence against the majority.

4. Special powers of Rajya Sabha :-

(i) It can declare any 'state subject' as of national importance.

(ii) Rajya Sabha can pass a resolution for the establishment of new All India Administrative Service.

POLITICAL EXECUTIVE

Executive is that organ of the government which enforces (executes) the laws passed by the legislature and runs the administration according to those laws. It stands for all those functionaries that run the administration.

It includes Head of the State (President), Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers and all the civil servants.

PRIME MINISTER AND COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

• The Prime Ministers is appointed by the President and other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

• The Prime Minister prepares a list of other ministers and they are formally appointed by the President.

• The President cannot appoint any Minister against the wishes of the Prime Minister.

• The Number of ministers cannot exceed 15 percent of the strength of Lok Sabha i.e., it cannot exceed 82 members.

Cabinet and Council of Ministers :- Normally the cabinet and the Council of Ministers are understood to be same body, but there is a difference between the two. In actual practice, there are three categories of ministers :

(i) Cabinet Ministers

(ii) Ministers of State and

(iii) Deputy Ministers

The Constitution does not prescibe any qualification for holding the office of a minister. It only says that a minister must be a member of either house of Parliament. If a non-member is made a minister, he must get a seat in either house of Parliament within six months, otherwise he will cease to be minister at the expiry of six months.

TENURE

The tenure of Council of Ministers is not fixed. It remains in office as long as it enjoys the support of majority in House of the People. When it loses that support, it has to resign.

Principle of Collective Responsibility :- One of the important features of Parliamentary Government (Cabinet Government) is the principle of collective responsibility. It means that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Parliament. If the House of the People passes a vote of no-confidence against the entire Council of Ministers and in that case the entire Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister has to resign. The ministers swim or sink together.

Function of the Council of Ministers :- The most important function of the Council of Ministers is the formation of policy –internal as well as external – of the country. The Council of Ministers runs the administration of the country in accordance with that policy. The bills passed by ministers are always passed by the Parliament because of the majority support they enjoy. The annual budget of the Central Government is prepared by the Council of Ministers. After being approved by the Council of Ministers, it is put before the Parliament for its approval. All the appointments of key officials of the Government are made by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

THE PRIME MINISTER

APPOINTMENT

According to Constitution, the prime Minister ia appointed by the president. He appoints only that person as Prime Minister who is the leader of the party or coalition of parties having an absolute majority in house of the People.

TENURE

According to the Constitution, the Prime Minister holds office during the pleasure of the President. In actual practice, the Prime Minister remains in office during the pleasure of Lok Sabha. As long as he enjoys the support of majority in Lok Sabha, the President cannot remove him.

FUNCTIONS OF THE PRIME MINISTER

1. Formation of Council of Ministers : The Prime Minister prepares the list of his Council of Ministers and sends it to the President. They are formally appointed by the President. The Prime Minister distributes portfolios among them. He can change their portfolios whenever he likes. He can also reshuffle his Council of Ministers whenever he likes.
2. Chairman of the Cabinet : The agenda of Cabinet meetings is also prepared by the Prime Minister. He maintains co-ordination between different departments of the government so that the work of administration is carried on smoothly.
3. Leader of the Lok Sabha : It is on his advice that the President summons and prorogues the session of Parliament.
4. Chief Advisor of the President : The Prime Minister is the Chief Adviser of the President.
5. Link between the President and the Cabinet.
6. Foreign Affairs : The Prime Minister plays an important role in the management of foreign affairs. He formulates the internal and external policy of the country. He puts his policies before the Parliament and gets them passed by it.
7. Leader of the Party : The Prime Minister has the main pillar in framing the policy of his party.
8. Leader of the Nation : The Prime Minister is the most popular leader of the nation.
9. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the Planning Commission.

THE PRESIDENT

The President is the head of the state. The head of the state exercises only nominal powers. In actual practice, his powers are exercised by the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers.

QUALIFICATIONS

President candidate must possess the following qualifications:

1. He must be a citizen of India.

2. He must be 35 years or above in age.

3. He must possess all the qualifications prescribed for the election of members of parliament.

4. He must not hold any office of profit under central, state or local self governments.

5. President cannot remain MP or MLA.

6. His candidature must be proposed by 50 members and seconded by another 50 members of the electoral college.

TENURE

In India President is elected for a term of five years. An individual can be elected president for any number of terms. President can resign even before the completion of his term.

REMOVAL OF PRESIDENT FROM OFFICE

• The special trial conducted by the Parliament is known as “Impeachment”. If the President is removed from office Vice-president of India officiates as President. New President must be elected within a period of six months.

• The President gets a salary of rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousands per month.

• He is elected indirectly by an electoral college consisting of elected members of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.

• The President is elected by proportional representation and single transferable vote system. There is parity in the number of votes of Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies.

• Disputes regarding the election of the President are decided by the Supreme Court of India.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESIDENT

Powers and functions of presidents are mainIy :
A. Powers and Functions in Peacetime (General Powers)
B. Emergency Powers.

A. Powers and Functions in peacetime are the following

1. Executive Powers
2. Legislative Powers
3. Financial Powers
4. Judicial Powers

1. Executive Powers

(1) President is head of the executive. All executive power are vested in the President.
(2) President appoints Prime Minister and other ministers are appointed by him on the advice of the Prime Minister.
(3) President appoints Governors, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Chairman and members of UPSC, Lieutenant Governors, Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
(4) President appoints members of Language Commission, Finance Commission, Planning Commission, Planning Commission of Backward Classes etc.
(5) President is Supreme Commander of the armed forces. He appoints top officials of military, navy and air force.
(6) He appoints ambassadors to the foreign countries.
(7) Administration of union territories remains under the control of president.
(8) He can send guideline to state governments.
(9) President can seek information regarding administration from the Prime Minister.
(10) President can declare war or peace with other countries with the approval of Parliament.

2. Legislative Powers

(1) President can convene and prorogue the session of Parliament.
(2) President can, on the recommendation of Prime Minister dissolve the Lok Sabha before it completes its full term and can order fresh elections.
(3) President is empowered to address both houses of parliament jointly or separately.
(4) President inaugurates the first annual session of parliament.
(5) A bill passed by Parliament becomes law when President gives his assent.
(6) President nominates twelve members of Rajya Sabha.
(7) In case of deadlock between both the houses in connection with passing of a bill, president convenes joint session of parliament after the expiry of six months of deadlock.
(8) President is empowered to issue ordinance when Parliament is not in session. Ordinance is law to all intents and purposes. It is put up on the floor of the house when the parliament is in session. In case the parliament does not endorse it within 6 weeks of the beginning of the session, the ordinance ceases to be in operation.

3. Financial Powers

(1) Money bill can be introduced in Lok Sabha with the recommendation of the president.
(2) President has full control over the contingency fund.
(3) President appoints Finance Commission after every five years.

4. Judicial Powers

(1) President appoints Judges and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
(2) President is empowered to grant pardon. He can pardon even the death sentence.

5. Emergency Powers of the President : The Constitution of India gives the President certain emergency powers. During emergency, federal structure becomes practically unitary one and the president wields all the powers.

Objective Type Questions

Question. When was the Second Backward Class Commission appointed?
(a) 1989
(b) 1979
(c) 1999
(d) 2001
Answer.B

Question. What do the Civil Servants do?
(a) They take important policy decisions
(b) They implement the ministers decisions
(c) They settle the disputes
(d) None of the above
Answer.B

Question. What is ‘Parliament’?
(a) Assembly of elected representatives at the national level
(b) A body consisting of appointed ministers
(c) Body comprising judges
(d) Assembly of only appointed members
Answer.A

Question. Which of these are correct so far as powers of the Parliament are concerned, apart from making laws?
(a) Exercising control over the government
(b) Controlling finance of the country
(c) Serving as the highest forum of discussion and debate
(d) All the above
Answer.D

Question. Apart from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, who else constitutes the Parliament?
(a) Prime Minister
(b) Chief Minister
(c) Governor
(d) President
Answer.D

Question. What happens if there is a difference of opinion between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over an ordinary bill?
(a) The President decides the matter
(b) The will of Rajya Sabha prevails
(c) There is a joint sitting of the two Houses
(d) The bill is cancelled
Answer.C

Question. For how long can the Rajya Sabha delay a Money Bill?
(a) 15 days
(b) 1 month
(c) 3 months
(d) 14 days
Answer.D

Question. Who is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha?
(a) Speaker
(b) Vice President
(c) President
(d) Prime Minister
Answer.A

Question. Two features of Indian judicial system are:
(a) Independent Judiciary
(b) Integrated Judiciary
(c) Dependent Judiciary
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer.D

Question. How can a judge of the Supreme Court be removed?
(a) By the Supreme Court itself
(b) By the Parliament through impeachment
(c) By the President alone
(d) By the Police
Answer.B

Question. What is the power of the Supreme Court to judge the constitutional validity of a law passed by the Parliament or an action of the 'Executive' called?
(a) Judicial Revision
(b) Judicial Review
(c) Judicial Consent
(d) Judicial Permission
Answer.B

Question. Which of the following institutions can make changes to the existing law of the country?
(a) The Supreme Court
(b) The President
(c) The Prime Minister
(d) The Parliament
Answer.D

Question. Which body acts as the guardian of Fundamental Rights?
(a) District Courts
(b) Supreme Court
(c) Election Commission
(d) Legislature
Answer.B

Question. What is a Public Interest Litigation?
(a) Filing a case in the court in the interest of the public
(b) Reviewing of supreme court judgements
(c) Procedure of removal of a judge
(d) None of the above
Answer.A

Question. What are the two types of ‘Executives’ in India?
(a) Political Executive
(b) Permanent Executive
(c) Judicial Executive
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer.D

Question. Who holds the most important and powerful position in the government?
(a) President
(b) Vice President
(c) Prime Minister
(d) Speaker
Answer.C

Question. Whom does the President appoint as the Prime Minister?
(a) Anyone he likes
(b) Leader of the majority party
(c) MP who has secured the largest number of votes
(d) None of the above
Answer.B

Question. What is the tenure of office of the Prime Minister?
(a) 5 years
(b) 6 years
(c) As long as he wants
(d) He does not have a fixed tenure
Answer.D

Question. Who among the following is a part of the political executive?
(a) Home Minister
(b) District Collector
(c) Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs
(d) Director General of Police
Answer.A

Question. What is the position of the President?
(a) Nominal head of the state
(b) Real head of the state
(c) Hereditary head of the state
(d) None of the above
Answer.A

Q1. Define the following:

Ans. (i) UAF:- Universal Adult Franchise. In this principle, all adult citizens of the country have the right to vote.

(ii) Coalition Government:- It refers to the alliance formed by political parties after elections when no party has been able to get adequate seats to form a clear majority.

(iii) Executive:- It is a smaller group of people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the got . They include CM, PM, Council of Minister.

(iv) Constituency:- A state is divided into several parts. From each area a MD is elected to control that area.

(v) Opposition:- The party which loses the election is called the opposition.

Q2. What role does the parliament play in the functioning of the government?

* The Parliament which is made up of all representatives controls and guides the government.

* The question hour is an important mechanism through which MPS can elicit information absent the working of the govt.

* The Parliament also have a significant role in law –making.

* The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative if the states of India in the Parliament.

* The Rajya Sabha can also initiate legislation and a bill is required to pass through the Rajya Sabha in order to become a law. It, therefore, has an important role of reviewing and altering the laws initiated by the Look Sabha.

Q3. How are the members of the Rajya Sabha elected?

Ans. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Legislative assemblies of various states, There are 233 elected members plus 12 members nominated by the President.

Q4. Why do you think reservation of Dalits and woman is important ion India?

* It has been observed that representative democracy cannot produce a perfect reflection of society.

* There is a realization that when interests and experiences separate, then it is important to ensure that communities that have been historically marginalized are given adequate representation.

* Similarly, it has more recently been suggested that there should be reservation of seats for woman. With this in mind, some seats are reserved in the Parliament for SCs and STs. This has been done so that the MPs elected from these constituencies will be familiar with and can represent Dalit and Adivasi interests in Parliament.

Q5. What role does the opposition party play in the healthy functioning of a democracy?

* The Opposition party asks questions absent the working and managing the country in the Parliament by asking questions the government is alerted to its shortcomings, and also comes to know the opinion of the people through their representatives in the Parliament.

* They highlight drawbacks in various policies and programmes of the government and mobilize popular support for their own policies. Thus, the opposition parties play a critical role in the healthy functioning of a democracy.

Q6. Give at least 2 arguments against representative democracy.

* Representative Democracy does not produce a perfect reflection of society as the interest and experiences separate the communities who have been given adequate representation.

* Representative democracy does not allow reservation in Parliament as after elapse of sixty yrs of independence one –third reservation of women is still pending and only nine percent are members if Parliament even if half of the population is women.

Q7. Explain the basic idea behind the representative democracy?

Ans. The basic idea in the kind of the democracy is that the individual or the citizen is the most important person and the government as well as other public institutions need have to trust these citizens.

Q8. Differentiate between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Q9. Who do you think the nationalist movement supported the idea that all the adults have a right to vote?

* Before freedom, under British rule, all adults were not allowed to vote and nor could people participate in decision making.

* The nationalists struggled and laid down the principle of Universal Adult Franchise.

* In this way the individual or the citizen is the most important person. It is the decision of the people that creates a democratic govt. and decides about its functioning.

Q10. Who is a Prime Minister and what role does he play in the functioning of the country?

* The Prime Minister is the leader of the ruling party in Lok Sabha

* From the MPs who belong to her party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to work with her to implement decision.

* These ministers then take charge of different areas of govt. functioning like health, education etc.

Q11. How can you say that composition of Indian parliament has changed recently?

* The Parliament now has more and more people from different backgrounds. For e.g.: There are more rural members as also members from any regional parties.

* Groups and peoples that were till now unrepresented are beginning to get elected to parliament.

* There has also been an increase in the political participation from the Dalit and the backward eastes and the minorities.

* Similarly, it has more recently been suggested that there should be reserved seats for women.

* This issue is still being debated. 60 yrs ago only 4% of MPs were women and today it is above 9%. This is a small share when your considerer the fact that half the population is women.

Q12. Explain the procedure of elections.

* People would elect their representatives to the parliament, then one group from among these elected representatives from the government.

* The Parliament which is made up of all representatives together controls and guides the Govt. In this sense people, through their chosen representatives and form the Government.

* The country is divided into numerous constituencies. Each of these constituencies elects one person to the parliament. The candidates who contest elections usually belong to different political parties.

Q13. What is a parliament and how does the executive control the Govt.?

* Created after 1947, The Indian Parliament is an expressive of the faith that the people of Indian have in principles of democracy. These are participation by people in the decisions making process and government.

* The Parliament, while in session with a question hour. The question hour is an important mechanism through with the Parliament controls the executive.

* By asking questions the Govt. is alerted to its shortcomings, and also comes to know the opinion of the people through their representatives in the Parliament i.e. the MPs.

* Asking questions from the government it reflects in the healthy functioning of a democracy. They highlight drawbacks in various policies and programs of the Govt. and mobilize support for their own policies.