Previous Year Question
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): India has a Parliamentary system of Government.
Reason (R): In India, the executive is responsible to the legislature.
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(A) is false, but (R) is true.
(A) is true, but (R) is false.
Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
Assertion (A) is correct. India has adopted the Parliamentary system of Government. Under this system, the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister constitutes the real executive. The President is the constitutional Head of State and generally performs functions in accordance with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
A major feature of the Parliamentary system is the relationship of accountability between the executive and the legislature. The Council of Ministers must enjoy the confidence of the Lok Sabha to remain in office.
Reason (R) is also correct. According to Article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Union Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This means that the Council of Ministers accepts responsibility to the Lok Sabha as a unit.
If the Lok Sabha passes a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers, the Council must resign. Similarly, Article 164(2) provides for the collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the State Legislative Assembly at the State level.
Important distinction: The Union Council of Ministers is collectively responsible specifically to the Lok Sabha, not the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha may question and debate the Government’s actions, but it cannot remove the Council of Ministers through a no-confidence motion.
Thus, the accountability of the executive to the elected House of the legislature is a major feature of India’s Parliamentary system.