Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

• The parliamentary system of government
  • The parliamentary system is based on the principle of cooperation and coordination between the legislative and executive organs while the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of powers between the two organs.
• The features of parliamentary government in India are:
  • Presence of nominal and real executives
  • Majority party rule
  • Collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature. i.e., the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha. So, option 4 is the correct answer.
  • Membership of the ministers in the legislature.

The correct answer is directly elected by the people.

Key Points

• Panchayat Samiti:
  • Panchayat Samiti is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate tehsil (taluka/Mandal) level in India.
  • It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block.
  • The members of the Panchayat Samiti are elected directly elected by the people.
  • Panchayat Samiti is related to Article 243(c) of the Indian Constitution.
  • According to  Article 243(c) - “intermediate level” means a level between the village and district levels specified by the Governor of a State by public notification to be the intermediate level for the purposes of this Part
  • It has been said to be the "panchayat of panchayats".
  • The 73rd Amendment defines the levels of Panchayati raj institution as:
    • District (or apex) level
    • Intermediate level
    • Base level
  • The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the gram panchayat (village council) and the Zila Parishad (district board).
  • The name varies across states: Mandal Parishad in Andhra Pradesh, taluka panchayat in Gujarat, and Mandal panchayat in Karnataka.

Additional Information

• The most common departments found in a panchayat Samiti are:
  • Administration
  • Finance
  • Public works (especially water and roads)
  • Agriculture
  • Health
• Each department in a panchayat Samiti has its own officer.
• Most often these are state government employees acting as extension officers, but occasionally in more revenue-rich panchayat Samiti, they may be local employees.
• A government-appointed block development officer (BDO) is the supervisor of the extension officers and executive officer to the panchayat Samiti and becomes, in effect, its administrative chief.
• The panchayat Samiti collects all the prospective plans prepared at the Gram Panchayat level and processes them for funding and implementation by evaluating them from the angles of financial constraints, social welfare, and area development.
• It also identifies and prioritizes the issues that should be addressed at the block level.

The correct answer is Option 2.

• There is no provision for a joint sitting of the Legislative Council and the legislative assembly. In the case of a disagreement, the decision of the Assembly is deemed final. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.

Key Points

State legislature:

• In most states, the Legislature consists of the Governor and the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha). This means that these states have unicameral Legislature.
• In a few states, there are two houses of the Legislature namely, Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and Legislative council (Vidhan Parishad) besides the Governor. Where there are two Houses, the Legislature, is known as bicameral. 
• Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha):
  • There is a Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) in every State. It represents the people of the State.
  • The members of Vidhan Sabha are directly elected by people on the basis of the universal adult franchise.
  • They are directly elected by all adult citizens registered as voters in the State. 
  • Members are elected from territorial constituencies.
  • Every State is divided into as many (single member) constituencies as the number of members to be elected.
  • As in the case of Lok Sabha, a certain number of seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes, and in some States for Scheduled Tribes also.
  • This depends on the population of these weaker sections in the State.
  • In order to become a Member of Vidhan Sabha a person must: be a citizen of India; have attained the age of 25 years; his/her name must be in voters’ list; must not hold any office of profit i.e.; should not be a government servant. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad):
  • Vidhan Parishad is the upper House of the State Legislature. It is not in existence in every State.
  • Very few States have a bicameral Legislature that means having two Houses.
  • The Parliament can create Vidhan Parishad in a State where it does not exist, if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to this effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting, and sends the resolution to the Parliament.
  • Similarly, if a State has a Council and the Assembly wants it to be abolished, it may adopt a resolution by a similar majority and send it to Parliament. In this situation, Parliament resolves to abolish the concerned Legislative Council.
  • According to the Constitution, the total number of members in the Vidhan Parishad of a State should not exceed one-third of the total number of members of Vidhan Sabha but this number should not be less than 40. Hence statement 4 is correct.
  • The Vidhan Parishad is partly elected and partly nominated. Most of the members are indirectly elected in accordance with the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote system. 
• Sessions of the State Legislature: The State Legislature meets at least twice a year and the interval between two sessions cannot be more than six months. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The Governor summons and prorogues the sessions of State Legislature.
• He addresses the Vidhan Sabha or both Houses (if there is a bi-cameral Legislature) at the commencement of the first session after each general election and at the commencement of the first session of the year

The correct answer is The maximum number is not fixed.

• According to the Indian Constitution, at one time, a person can be the Governor of a maximum of any number of states, the maximum number is not fixed.

Key Points

• The office of the Governor is the highest office in the state.
• The Governor is also called the first-person of the state.
• The Governor is appointed and removed by the President of India.
• Governor holds the office till the President of India.
• Condition for the office of the governor:
  • He should be an Indian Citizen.
  • He should be 35 years old or more.
  • He should not hold any office of profit.
  • He cannot be a member of parliament or state legislature.

Additional Information

• Article Related to Governor:
  • Article 152: Definition
  • Article 153: Governors of states.
  • Article 154: Executive Power of Governor.
  • Article 155: Appointment of Governor
  • Article 156: Term of office of Governor
  • Article 157: Qualifications for that appointment of Governor
  • Article 158: Conditions of Governor's office.
  • Article 159: Oath or Affirmation by Governor
  • Article 160: Discharge Of the functions of the Governor in Contingencies
  • Article 161: Power of Governor to grant pardon, etc.
  • Article 162: Extent of Executive Power of State. 

The correct answer is None.

• No members are nominated in the present State Assembly of Rajasthan.
  • Member indirectly elected and nominated in Legislative Council, not Legislative Assembly.

Additional Information 

• Member indirectly elected and nominated in Legislative Council, not Legislative Assembly.
  • The members being drawn from various sources, the Council shall have a variegated composition.
  • 5/6 of the total number of members of the Council shall be indirectly elected and 1/6 will be nominated.
  • One-third of the total number of members of the Council would be elected by electorates consisting of members of local bodies like the municipalities and the district boards.
  • One-third would be elected by members of the Legislative Assembly from amongst people who are not Assembly members.
  • One-twelfth of the members would be elected by electorates comprising of graduates of the standing of three years dwelling in that particular state.
  • One-twelfth of the members would be elected by electorates consisting of teachers who have been in the teaching profession for at least 3 years in educational institutes in that state, which are not lower than secondary schools in the standard.
  • The rest would be nominated by the Governor from persons having knowledge or practical experience in matters like science, literature, cooperative movement, art and social service.