Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is I, II, IV.

Key Points

• Under the purview of enquiry of 'LOKAYUKTA' in Rajasthan
  • Ministers
  • Secretaries
  • Chairpersons of autonomous institutions

Additional Information 

• The Lokayukta has been empowered under Section 7 of the Rajasthan Lokayukta and Sub-Lokayukta Act, 1973 to investigate allegations against ministers and public servants, in certain cases.
• According to the definition of public servant given in section 2 (i) of the Act, the Lokayukta has the jurisdiction to investigate against the following:
  • A member of the Council of Ministers of the State of Rajasthan (other than the Chief Minister and Governor), by whatever name is known, namely, Minister, Minister of State or Deputy Minister,
  • A person appointed to public service or a public post in relation to the activities of the State of Rajasthan,
• Every head and deputy head of the Zilla Parishad, the head and deputy head of the:
  • Panchayat Samiti and the chairman of any standing committee constituted by or under the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act.
  • Every Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Corporation, each Chairman and Vice- Chairman of the Municipal / Council, the Chairman of the Municipal Board, and the Vice- Chairman and the Chairman of any committee constituted under the Rajasthan Municipal Act.
• Every person who is in the service of the following or has been paid his salary, namely:
  • Any local authority in the State of Rajasthan, to be notified on this behalf by the State Government in the Gazette,
  • Any corporation (not being a local authority), established by or under a State Act and owned or controlled by the State Government.
  • Any Government company under section 617 of the Companies Act, in which twenty-one per cent of the paid-up share capital is held by the State Government or any company which is a subsidiary of any such company in which the State Government is holding fifty-one per cent of the paid-up share capital.

The correct answer is B.N. Rao.

Key Points

• BN Rao was elected by the Constituent Assembly as its constitutional advisor.
  • The Constituent Assembly was a partly elected and partly nominated body.
  • The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on 9 December 1946.
  • The Muslim League boycotted the meeting and insisted on a separate state of Pakistan.
  • Thus only 211 members attended the meeting.
  • Later on 11 December 1946 Dr. Rajendra Prasad and H.C. Mukherjee was elected as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly respectively.
  • Vallabhbhai Patel was the President of the Provincial Constitution Committee
  • Jawaharlal Nehru was the chairman of the Central Constitution Committee.

Additional Information

• In 1934, M N Roy first proposed the idea of a constituent assembly. Under the Cabinet Mission plan of 1946, elections were held for the formation of the constituent assembly.
• On 24 January 1950, The Indian Constituent Assembly adopted "Vande Mataram " as a national song.
• Drafting Committee:
  • The Drafting Committee had seven members:
    • Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, N. Gopalaswami, B.R. Ambedkar, K.M Munshi, Mohammad Saadulla, B.L. Mitter, and D.P. Khaitan.
  • At its first meeting on 30th August 1947, the Drafting Committee elected B.R Ambedkar as its Chairman. 

The correct answer is 1994.

• The State Election Commission (SEC), Rajasthan was constituted in July 1994 under Article 243 K of the Constitution of India.

Key Points

• The SEC is a single member Committee headed by the State Election Commissioner.
  • It has a Secretary who is also the Chief Electoral Officer for the State.
  • The Commission discharges its Constitutional duty by way of preparing electoral rolls and holding elections for Panchayati Raj Institutions as well as for Municipal bodies. 
• The first election was conducted in 1960 by the Panchayat Department. 
• The State Election Commission is the Constitutional body responsible for conducting and supervising elections to the local bodies in the State. 

Additional Information

• In Rajasthan, urban local bodies are called Municipalities, Municipal Councils, and Municipal Corporations. 
• The Commission discharges its constitutional duty by way of preparing electoral rolls and holding elections for Municipal bodies under Article 243 ZA.
• At present, Rajasthan has 188 Municipal bodies with 5232 territorial constituencies.

The correct answer is Contingency Fund.

• Contingency Fund is being used by the Government of India to meet the unforeseen expenses.

Additional Information 

• Consolidated Fund of India:
  • This is the most important of all accounts of the government.
  • This fund is filled by Direct and indirect taxes Loans taken by the Indian government, Returning of loans/interests of loans to the government by anyone/agency that has taken it.
  • The government meets all its expenditure from this fund.
  • The government needs parliamentary approval to withdraw money from this fund.
  • The provision for this fund is given in Article 266 (1) of the Constitution of India.
  • Each state can have its own Consolidated Fund of the state with similar provisions.
  • The Comptroller and Auditor General of India audit these funds and reports to the relevant legislatures on their management.
• Contingency Fund of India:
  • Provision for this fund is made in Article 267 (1) of the Constitution of India.
  • Its corpus is Rs. 500 crores.
  • The Secretary of, Finance Ministry holds this fund on behalf of the President of India.
  • This fund is used to meet unexpected or unforeseen expenditure.
  • Contingency Fund is being used by the Government of India to meet the unforeseen expenses
  • Each state can have its own contingency fund.
• Public Accounts of India:
  • This is constituted under Article 266 (2) of the Constitution.
  • All other public money (other than those covered under the Consolidated Fund of India) received by or on behalf of the Indian Government are credited to this account/fund.
  • This is made up of Bank savings account of the various ministries/departments, National small savings fund, defence fund, National Investment Fund (money earned from disinvestment), National Calamity & Contingency Fund (NCCF) (for Disaster Management), Provident fund, Postal insurance, etc.

The Correct answer is ​President has refused to give his assent to the Bill.

Key Points

• Joint sitting is not summoned when the president has refused to give his assent to the Bill. Hence it is not a sufficient ground to call joint sitting.

Occasions when Joint Session of Parliament is summoned:

• To resolve deadlock when any house of the Parliament passes a bill and:
• The other House rejects this bill, or
• The Houses do not agree on the amendments made to the bill, or
• More than six months elapsed with the bill being received by the other House without it being passed. Hence Option 1, 2, and 3 are sufficient grounds for join sitting.

​Important Points

• Article 108 of the Indian Constitution provides for a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.
• The joint session is summoned by the President.
• It is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• The joint sitting is governed by the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha and not of Rajya Sabha.
• The quorum to constitute a joint sitting: 1/10th of the total number of members of the House.
• The Bill is passed by a simple majority of the total number of members of both the Houses present and voting in the joint sitting.