The Central Government

THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT


Q1. What is meant by the supremacy of the Parliament?

Ans. The Indian Parliament is the final law making body and it derives its powers from the people as it is directly elected by the people and this forms the most popular element of any government. The parliament forms laws on the Union and Concurrent list and even has the powers to impeach the President or the Vice President. It controls the expenditure of the government through budgets and money bills. If need be it can amend the Constitution under the supervision of the High Court.

The Parliament too plays an important role in the democratic system. The Council of Ministers who are elected to the parliament are answerable to it. The Prime Minister who is the leader of the majority party is the main spokesman of his Council of Ministers. The Parliament has a term of five years but in case of emergency its term can be extended for a year more. There are two houses in the Parliament. The Lok Sabha and The Rajya Sabha.

Q2. What is the confidence of legislature and pleasure of the President?

Ans. The Prime Minister and his council of Ministers derive their power from the Parliament and are answerable to it. They work as a team and are answerable to the parliament in the matters of all omissions and commissions. If one of the ministers is unparliamentary, then they sink together i.e. they loose the confidence of the Parliament. The Parliament holds a vote of confidence and if the Council of Ministers are not able to garner majority support then the Parliament is dissolved and elections are held.

Pleasure of the President is the term that is coined meaning a Prime Minister and his council of Ministers can be in the office during the Pleasure of the President. But in reality the Prime Minister and his council of ministers remain in office till they enjoy the confidence of the legislature. The President, when he sees that the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers have lost the majority support in the Parliament can call for its dissolution.

Q3. POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT:

The President of our country has various types of powers like Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Emergency and Financial Powers.

a) Executive Powers: The President occupies the highest executive office in our country. After the General elections he invites the leader of the majority party to form the government at the centre. He is responsible for various appointments like the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, Ambassadors to other countries and also checks the credentials of the ambassadors of other countries sent to India.

b) Legislative powers: He can summon or prorogue the parliament and can dissolve the Lok Sabha. He inaugurates the joint session of the Parliament and any bill can become a law only when the President inks his signature on the bill. If he is not satisfied he can send it back to the parliament to be rediscussed and can do so only once. When once again it is presented, he has to put his signature on it.

c) Financial powers: The President causes for the budget to be formed and placed before the Parliament and no bill can be introduced without his prior approval. He has total control over the consolidated and contingency funds with the approval of the Parliament.

d) Judicial powers: He appoints all the judges of the supreme court and the high court. He cannot be sued by any court till he is in office and can commute sentences and also grant pardon.

e) Emergency powers: He enjoys three types of emergency powers

1) emergency arising out of war or external aggression or armed rebellion.

2) emergency because of breakdown of constitutional machinery.

3) financial emergency

1) When the country is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion, he can declare a state of emergency and curtail the rights of the citizens.
2) If any state is not run according to the constitution, then President can impose President’s rule for a period of six months and with the Parliamentary approval can extend for 6 more months.
3) When there is financial instability or the credit of our country is threatened, then financial emergency can be declared by the President. He can alter the salaries of all government officials including judged and from financial powers.


Q4. VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT:

The Supreme court has several functions and as in legal prelance it is called jurisdiction of the Supreme court. Firstly it has the original jurisdiction on disputes between the government of India and one or more state government or between two or more state government. Secondly it has appellate jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases decided by the High Court in the States. Thirdly the Supreme Court has an advisory jurisdiction under which it can report to the President its opinion on any legal matter. Fourthly it protects the Constitution from any unwanted amendments made by any government to suit its policies.





Q5. POSITION OF THE PRIME MINISTER:

The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party and as long as this leadership is not questioned, his position is strong. Another factor that adds to his strength is the discipline of the party. Because of these factors he holds a position of pre-eminance and in all practicality is more powerful than the President of the Country. He is the constant factor in the Parliamentary executive. The ministers are appointed, shuffled from one portfolio to another at his instance. He decides, co-ordinates the work of different ministries and if there are frictions, he smoothens them out. He is also the head of the planning commission which supervises economic policies of the country.

Q6. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT AND THE JUDICIARY IN INDIA

The Indian Parliament is the final law making body in the country. As it is elected directly by the people, it is the most popular element in the entire government. It has the powers to make law on the Union and Concurrent list. It is a part of the process of election of both the President and Vice-President and can even impeach either of them. The main role that the Parliament plays is being the centre of a democratic process.

For the democratic process or for democracy to be successful, it is highly essential that the judiciary should be independent. The judiciary is equally responsible for maintaining democracy in India. The parliament is the law making body of the country but the judiciary sees to it that the laws that are passed are not biased and also sees to it that the laws are rightly implemented. Both the judiciary and the parliament have equal authority and equal responsibility in the success of democracy in the country.

Q7. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND THE PRIME MINISTER.

The President is the formal head of the executive and all the business of the government is carried on in the name of the President, the ceremonial head of the State. But the decisions which the President signs are actually made by the Prime Minister and his cabinet collegues. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. According to the Constitution, the President has all the significant powers and that the Prime Minister will only aid and advise him. But actually the Prime Minister and his council of ministers who have the actual powers. The President has to ink his signature on whatever bill has been passed in the Parliament. If at all he is not satisfied, he can send it back for rediscussion but once it is again presented, he has no other option but to sign it.