Module- 2 : Union Executive and State Executive Dr. M. P. Yadav, H & S.S.

Parliamentary System of Government:

The Parliamentary system is a democratic form of government in which the party or a coalition
of parties with the greatest presentation in the Parliament (Legislature) forms the government,
its leader becoming the Prime Minister. Executive functions are exercised by the members of
the Parliament appointed by the Prime Minister to the cabinet. The parties in minority serve in
the opposition and their duty is to regularly challenge the majority party. Prime Minister may
be removed from power whenever they lose the confidence of a majority of the ruling party or
of the Parliament.

The defining characteristics of the Parliamentary system are the supremacy of the Legislative
within the three functions of the government- Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. The
Legislative function conducted through a Uicameral (one-chamber) or Bicameral (two-chamber)
Parliament composed of members accountable to the people they represent. The Prime
Minister and his council of ministers carry out the Executive Function. The political party or
coalitions of parties that make up a majority of the Parliament select the Prime Minister and
department ministers. The Prime Minister is usually is the leader of the majority party, if there
is one or the leader of one of the parties in the ruling coalition.

In Parliamentary system, laws are made by majority votes of the Legislature and signed by the
head of state, who does not have an effective veto power. In most Parliamentary of
Democracies, the head state can return a bill to the Legislative body to signify disagreement
with it. But the parliament can override this “veto” with a simple majority vote.

A Parliamentary Democracy is directly and immediately responsive through the electoral

process. Members of Parliament may hold their positions during an established period between
regularly scheduled elections. However they can be turned out of office at any point between
the periodic Parliamentary elections if the government formed by the majority party loses the
support of the majority of Legislative body. If the governing body, the Prime Minister and his
cabinet of executive of executive ministers suffers a “no confidence” vote against it in the
parliament, then it dissolved and an election may be called immediately to establish a new
Parliamentary membership. A new Prime Minister and cabinet of executive ministers may be
selected by the newly elected members of the Parliament.

Powers of Indian Parliament : (Rajya Sabha and Lak Sabha)

Rajya Sabha :
1- Functions of Rajya Sabha:
The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Union Parliament. It gives representation to the
Indian states. However, the states do not enjoy an equal representation in the Rajya Sabha.

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They have been given representations on the basis of the size of their population. Rajya Sabha
can have a maximum strength of 250 members; put of these 238 are representatives of the
states and remaining 12 members are nominated by the President from amongst persons who
have achieved distinctions in the field of art, literature, science or social services. At present,
Rajya Sabha has 245 members wherein 233 are elected and 12 nominated.
The members of Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly by the people. The people of each state
elect the members of their state Legislative Assembly who then elect the members of Rajya
Sabha by a method of proportional representation through the single transferable vote system.
Each state legislative assembly elects as many representatives as have been allocated to it by
the constitution. Qualification of a member of Rajya Sabha are-

- He must be a citizen of India.

- He must be above the age of 30 years.
- He must possess all other qualifications as laid down by the parliament.
- He must not hold any office of profit under any government.
- He should not be insane or bankrupt.
- He should not have been disqualified under any law of the parliament.

Now any person residing in any part of India can contest election to the Rajya Sabha from any
state. The Rajya Sabha is a quasi-permanent house. It is not subject to dissolution as a whole.
One third of its members retire every two years and elections are held only for a vacant seats.
The tenure of each member of Rjya Sabha is six years.

The President convenes the session of the Rajya Sabha usually along with the sessions of the
Lok Sabha or whenever he feels it necessary. However, there cannot be a gap of more than six
months within two sessions of the Rajya Sabha. The president can call special session of Rjya
Sabha to get approval for an emergency declaration when the Lok Sabha stands dissolved. The
quorum for the meetings of Rajya Sabha is 1/10 th of its members. The members of Rajya Sabha
enjoy several privileges. They enjoy unrestricted freedom to express their wievs in the house.
They cannot be arrested for any civil offence during and 40 days before and after the session of
Rajya Sabha.

The Vice-President of India is the ex- officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He is not a member of
the house. However, he preside over its meetings and conduct its proceedings. During the
absence of the Vice-President, the the Deputy Chairman of the Rjya Sbha presides over the
meetings. The Deputy Chairman is elected by the Rajya Sabha MPs from amongst themselves.

2- Powers of the Rajya Sabha:

The powers of Rajya Sbha are –
1- Legislative Powers
2- Financial Powers

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3- Executive Powers
4- Amendment Powers
5- Electoral Powers
6- Judicial Powers
7- Two Special Powers of Rajya Sabha- (i)- Power of declare a subject of state list as a subject of
national importance.
(ii)- Power to Create or abolish an all India service.

A study of powers of the Rajya Sabha leads us to the conclusion that it is neither a weak house
nor a powerful house. Its position is somewhat mid-way between the two. It is less powerful
than the Lok Sabha but It has not been a very weak or insignificant House.

Lok Sabha:
1- Functions of Lok Sabha:
Lok Sabha is the lower and powerful house of Union Parliament. It represents the the people
of India. The members are directly elected by the people of India. It is fully democratic,
representative and a National House. The present membership of the Lok Sabha is 545, out of
which 523 are elected by the people of all Indian states and 20 by the people of the Union
Territories. The President nominates 2 members from the Anglo-Indian community. The
maximum membership of the Lok Sabha was fixed at 552 till the year 2010.

Every citizen who has attained the minimum age of 18 years has the right to vote in the
elections to the Lok Sabha. However, it is essential that his name should be included in the
voters list of his constituency. The members of Lok Sabha are elected on the basis of the
following principles-

Reservation of states for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes

Single Member Territorial Constituencies
Secret Ballots
Direct Election and Simple Majority Vote Victory System.

Qualifications for the membership of the Lok Sabha are-

- He must be a citizen of India.

- He must not be less than 25 years age.
- He must not hold any office of profit in the government.
- He should not have an unsound mind or be bankrupt.
- He should not be a declared offender of a grave crime by any court.
- He should not have been disqualified under any law of the parliament.

The normal term of Lok Sabha is five years. This term can be extend for one year during an
emergency. But fresh elections to the Lok Sabha must be held within six months by the end of

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Emergency. Further the President can dissolve the Lok Sabha at any time when the Prime
Minister may advise him to do so or when no party is in a position to form a government. In this
case also a new Lok Sabha has to be elected within six months.

The President can call a session of any time but the gap between two meetings of the
Parliament cannot be more than six months. It means in one year, a minimum of two sessions
of Lok Sabha are essential. For a meeting of Lok Sabha the presence of at least 1/10 th of its total
members is essential. If 1/10th of the members are no present, the speaker of the house can
adjourn the meeting for lack of quorum. The speaker is the chairman and Presiding Officer of
the Lok Sabha. In its first meeting every Lok Sabha elect one of its members as the Speaker and
another as the Deputy Speaker. The Speaker presides over the meeting of Lok Sabha, conducts
its proceedings and maintains discipline and decorum in the house. In the absence of Speaker
these functions are performed by the Deputy Speaker. In absence of both one member from
the panel of chairmen presides over the meeting.

Power and Functions of Lok Sabha:

1- Legislative Powers

2- Executive Powers

3- Financial Powers

4- Judicial Powers

5- Electoral Functions

Powers and Functions of President of India:

There are various powers of President-

Executive Powers:

- Every executive action of the Indian Government is taken in his name.

- He may/ may not make rules to simplify the transaction of business of the Central
Government.
- He appoints the Attorney General of India and determines his remuneration. He appoint
the following peoples-
 Comptroller and Auditor General of India (COG)
 Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
 Chairman and Members of Union Public Service Commission.
 Governors of the States.
 Chairman and Members of the Finance Commission of India.

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 - He can ask for administrative information from the Union Government.
- He requires the Prime Minister to submit for consideration of the council of ministers
any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been
considered by the council.
- He appoints National Commission of-
 Scheduled Castes
 Scheduled Tribes
 Other Backward Class
- Interstate Council
- He appoints Administrators of Union Territories.
- He can declare any area as a Scheduled area and has powers with respect to the
administration of scheduled areas and tribal areas.

Legislative Powers of the President:

- Dissolve the Lok Sabha by sending summons to the Parliament.

- Summons a joint seating of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in case of deadlock.
- Addresses the Indian Parliament at the commencement of the first session after every
general election.
- Appoints Speaker Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman/Deputy Chairman of
Rajya SAbha.
- Nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha.
- Can nominate two members of Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian Community.
- Consult he Election Commission of India on questions of disqualifications MPs.
- Recommends/Permits the introduction of certain types of bills.

Financial Powers of the President:

- President’s prior recommendation is a must to introduce the Money Bill.

- He causes union budget to be laid before the Parliament.
- His recommendation is a pre-requisite to make a demand for grants.
- Contingency fund of India is under his control.
- He constitutes his finance commission every five years.

Judicial Powers of the President:

- President appoints the Chief Justice of Supreme Court/ High Court Judges.
- He can take advise from the Supreme Court though that advise is not binding on him.
- He has Pardoning Power: Under Article 72, he has been conferred with the power to
grant pardon against punishment by a martial court, or death sentence.

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Diplomatic Powers of the President:

- International Treaties and Agreements approved by the Parliament are negotiated and
concluded in his name.
- He is the representative of India in International Forum and Affairs.

Military Powers of the President:

- He is the commander of the defence forces of India. He appoint-

 Cief of Army
 Chief of Navy and
 Chief of the Air Force.

Emergency Powers of the President:

He deals with three types of emergencies given in the Indian Constitution:

- National Emergency (Article 352)

- President’s Rule (Article 356 & 365) and
- Financial Emergency (Article 360)

Veto Power of the President:

- When a bill is introduced in the Parliament, it can pass the bill but before it becomes an
act, it has to be presented to the President for his approval.
- It is on the President of India to either reject the bill, return the bill or withhold his
assent.
- The choice of the President over the bill is called his Veto Power. The Veto Power of the
President is guided is by Article 111 of the Indian Constitution.

Powers and Functions of the Governor:

Executive Powers of the Governor:

The following are the executive powers of the Governor-

- Every executive action that the State Government takes, is to be taken in his name.
- The Governor specifies the rules on how to authenticate an order that has been taken
up in his name.
- He may/ may not make rules to simplify the transaction of the business of the state
Government.
- Chief Minister and other Ministers of the state are appointed by him.

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 - It is his responsibility to appoint the tribal welfare minister in the state s of :
 Chhattisgarh
 Madhya Pradesh
 Jharkhand
 Odisha
- He appointed the Advocate General of state and determines their remuneration.
- He appoints the following people:
 State Election Commissioner
 Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission
 Vice-Chancellors of the Universities in the state
- He seeks information from the state Government.
- He recommends a constitutional emergency in the state to the President.
- The Governor enjoys extensive executive powers as an agent of the President during the
President’s rule in the state.

Legislative Powers of the Governor:

The following are the legislative powers of the Governor:

- It is in his power to prorogue the state Legislature and dissolve the state Legislative
Assemblies.
- He addresses the State Legislature at the first session of every year.
- If any bill is pending in the State Legislature, the Governor may/may not send a bil, to
the State Legislature concerning the same.
- If the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is absent, then the
Governor appoints a person to preside over the session.
- As the President nominates 12 members in Rajya Sabha, the Governor appoints 1/6 of
the total members of the Legislative Council from the field of :

(i) Literature (ii) Science (iii) Art (iv) Cooperative Movement and (v) Social Service

- As the President nominates 2 members in the Lok Sabha, the Governor nominates 1
member to the State Legislative Assembly from the Anglo-Indian community.

- He can consent the Election Commission for the disqualification of members.

- With respect to a bill introduced in the State Legislature, he can :

(i) Give his assent (ii) Withhold his assent (iii) Return the bill

(iv) Reserve the bill for the President’s consideration.

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Financial Powers of Governor:

The following are the financial powers of the Governor:

- He looks over the state budget being laid in the State Legislature.
- His recommendation is a prerequisite for the introduction of the Money Bill in the State
Legislature.
- He recommends the demand for grants which otherwise cannot be given.
- Contingency fund of the State is under him and he makes advances to meet unforeseen
expenditure.
- The State Finance Commission is constituted every five years by him.

Judicial Powers of Governor:

The following are the judicial powers and functions of the Governor:

- He is the following pardoning powers and functions against punishment :

(i) Pardon (ii) Reprieve (iii) Respite (iv) Remit (v) Commute
- The President consults the Governor while appointing judges of High Courts.
- In consultation with the State High Court, the Governor makes appointments, postings,
and promotions of the District Judges.
- In consultation with State High Courts and State Public Service Commission, he also
appoints persons to the judicial services.

Governor’s Discretionary Powers:

- The Governor of State, unlike the President of India, is conferred with the power to act
at his own discretion.
- There are two categories of discretion for the Governor. One is constitutional discretion
and the other is situational discretion.

State Legislature:

State Legislature in India refers to the law-making Legislature in each state. It comprises of two
Houses called the legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and the legiaslative council. In some
states, there are Unicameral Legislature, with only one House called state legislative assembly.
Other have Bicameral Legislatures, with two houses namely, the state legislative council (Upper
House of Vidhan Parishad) and state legislative assembly (Lower House or Vidhan Sabha). State
like Jammu and Kashmir, Utter Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and
Karnataka have Bicameral Legislature. Each House of the state legislature in India is summoned
from time to time by the Governor, who may also prorogue either House and dissolve the

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legislative assembly. The period for which the House should meet or the required duration of
the sessions is not mentioned in the constitution, but the gap between two sessions must be
less than 6 months.

State legislature in India has exclusive jurisdiction to legislate on items in the state list and his
concurrent jurisdiction on respect to items in List III. According to Article 200 and 201, the
Governor can reserve some bills for consideration of the President who can give his assent to
the bills or withhold his assent. Corresponding to the President’s power under article 123, the
Governor also enjoys power to issue ordinance.

State legislature has the power to levy taxes with respect to all subjects in the state list. The
Legislative Assembly has power to control the Council of Ministers. The elected members of the
legislative assembly take part in the election of the President of India. They have the power to
the representatives of the state in the Rajya Sabha. The Union Parliament can make some
Constitutional amendments, only with the ratification by at least half the State Legislature. The
legislative assembly can adopt aresolution for the creation or elimination of the Legislative
Council.

Powers and Functions of the State Legislature:

1- Legislative Powers

- The legislature of each state is empowered to frame laws on all matters included in the
state list and the concurrent list. But always made by the state legislature on the
subjects in the concurrent list will be null and void in case they conflict with laws of the
union on the same subject provided the relevant laws of the state legislature have not
obtained the assent of the President.
- Thus the constitution has imposed certain restrictions on the power of the state
legislature. Another limitation is that during an emergency, the Parliament may make
laws on the state list.
- According to Article 249 of the Constitution, even in normal times, the council of states
passes a resolution by two-third majority than in the National interest the Union
Parliament should make laws on any matters in the state.
- The Governor at his discretion may reserve certain bills like acquisition of private
property, bills seeking to impose restriction on freedom of trade and commerce, bills
affecting powers of high courts, etc. for Presidential assents. Under some circumstances
the President may give assent to such bills or send them back for reconsideration of the
state legislature. If such bills are again passed by the state legislature, the President is
not bound to give his assent. So the President veto the bills in entirety, if he so desires.
Thus the legislative power of the state legislative assembly is limited.

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2- Financial Powers

The legislature of state also controls the finances of state. Without the legislative sanction, a
single rupee cannot be spent. The budget is introduced every year in the state legislature who
may pass, reduce, or reject the demands for grant. It is the state legislature duty to find ways
and means to meet the budget expenditure. Proposal for increase or decrease of taxes are to
be approved in the assembly.

In a Bicameral Legislature, the position of the legislative assembly is superior to that of the
legislative council in respect to financial matters. Except the expenditure charged on the
consolidated fund of the state (which is non-votable) all other items of expenditure must be
submitted to the legislative assembly in the form of demand for grant.

Control over Executive

- The Constitution introduced the Parliamentary type of Government in the centre as well
as in the states. Consequently, the council of ministers if collectively made responsible
to the state legislature.
- The legislature exercise supervision and control over the ministers. The common
method used to make the ministers responsible to the legislature is through question,
censure motion, Amendment to Government policies, vote of no confidence etc.
- There are also committees which exercise control over the government on behalf of the
state legislature.
- In controlling the executive, the legislative assembly is more powerful than the
legislative council.
- A vote of no confidence in the legislative council may not lead to the resignation of the
council of ministers. However, such a vote of no confidence if passed in the legislative
assembly compels the ministry to tender its resignation.

Electoral Functions

The elected members of the legislative assembly constitute a part of the Electoral College
provided for the election of the President of India.

The legislative assembly also elects the representatives of the state to the Rajya Sabha and 1/3
of the members of the legislative council of the state concerned. It also elects its speaker and
deputy speaker. Legislative council also elects a chairman and vice-chairman from among its
members to preside over the meeting of the council.

Constituent Functions

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The state legislatures have no power to propose any amendment of the constitution. All
initiatives for the amendment of the constitution are vested in the Union Parliament. There are
certain categories of amendments of the Indian Constitution- such as the election of the Indian
President, High Courts, the representation of state in the Parliament, Article 368 of the
Constitution etc.- which are to be rectified by one half of the legislatures. In these respects, the
state legislature also takes part in the amendment of the Constitution. The 15 th and 16th
amendment bills were referred to the state legislatures. Only when they received the support
of half the state legislatures, the amendment becomes valid.

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