Prelims Polity By Oberoi Sir

1. Consider the following statements about the Unitary Form of Government

1. The Parliament or Legislature is mostly Unicameral
2. No Supreme Authority of Court
3. Flexible Constitution
4. Uniformity of Laws

How many of the above statements truly represent the Unitary form of government?

1. 2 only
2. 3 only
3. 1 only
4. All Four

Ans: D

The Centre is the reservoir of all powers in the Unitary System of government. There is no province or provincial government in such type of system.

Statement 1 is Correct: In Unitary Form of Government, the Parliament or the Legislature is Unicameral. There is no upper house or chamber in the unitary system. The members of the legislature are elected by the people directly. The only exception is the UK.

Statement 2 is correct: The judiciary may not be a powerful wing of the state as the powers completely lie with the Parliament or the Central Govt.

Statement 3 is correct: The Constitution is easy to amend like ordinary legislation.

Statement 4 is correct: In the Unitary System, the laws are made uniform throughout the country.

2. Consider the following statements about the Federal Form of Government

1. Dual Administration and Citizenship
2. Generally the Federal States are the result of an agreement
3. Written and Rigid Constitution
4. Equality to all the unit states

How many of the above statements truly represent the Unitary form of government?

1. 2 only
2. 3 only
3. 1 only
4. All Four

Ans: D

Federalism is a form of government where the powers are distributed between the Central and the provincial governments and both have their separate and well-defined areas of authority.

Statement 1 is Correct: The nature of functioning of administration at the Centre and state level government is totally independent but both mutually support each other.

Statement 2 is Correct: In a Federal System, the sovereign states come together and form a big state by entering into an agreement.

Statement 3 is Correct: As the powers are distributed it becomes essential to define the powers in a written and enacted form. The written Constitution is generally rigid. It is aimed at protecting the nature of the federal structure.

Statement 4 is Correct: The Federal units treat all the states or units equally. It never gives special or extra preference to any state on the basis of size, population or resources.

3. Consider the following about the Parliamentary Form of Government

1. There are two executive heads
2. Leadership of the Head of the State
3. Absence of Fixed Terms
4. It is also referred to as ‘Cabinet Government’.

How many of the above statements are correct?

1. 2 only
2. 3 only
3. 1 only
4. All Four

Ans: B

Statement 1 is Correct: In the Parliamentary Form of Government there are two executive heads. The Heas of the State and the Head of the Government.

Statement 2 is Incorrect: The Head of the state is symbolic or figurehead representative of the State. His or her role is primarily non-political, formal, symbolic and ceremonial. While the real power lies with the Head of the Government. The PM as the head of the government exercises a wide range of powers making him or her the most powerful agent of the government.

Statement 3 is Correct: The Legislature can remove the government before the completion of its term via a vote of no confidence and the PM can dissolve the Legislature before the expiry of its term.

Statement 4 is Correct: It is also referred to as Cabinet form of government as the actual power of the executive is exercised by the Cabinet.

4. Consider the following between Indian and British Parliamentary Form of Government

How many of the above statements are incorrect?

1. 1 Only
2. 2 only
3. 3 only
4. All Four

Ans: A

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDIAN AND BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY FORM OF GOVERNMENT

Although India has primarily adopted the British Model while selecting the Parliamentary form of government, still there are some basic differences between the Parliamentary system of India and Britain.

Indian Form of Parliamentary Government:

India adopted the Republican form of government. Hence, India is a Republic. The Head of state in India is the President who is elected on the basis of Proportional Representation.

In India, Parliament is not Supreme and neither does India believe in “Parliamentary Sovereignty. The power of the Parliament is limited by the written Constitution, the federal system, judicial review, and Fundamental Rights. In fact, in India, Constitution is considered to be supreme.

In India, the Prime Minister can be a member of either House of Parliament. In other words, the Prime Ministers can come from either the Lok Sabha or from Rajya Sabha.

In India, a person who is not a member of either House of the Parliament can also become a Minister, but only for a maximum period of 6 months.

In India, Ministers do not have any legal responsibility. They only have individual and Collective Responsibility. Individually. They are responsible to the Head of the State and collectively, they are responsible to the Lok Sabha.

India does not have any institution known as “Shadow Cabinet”

British Form of Parliamentary Democracy:

Britain is not a republic. Britain has a Monarchical system. In other words, the Head of the State in Britain is King or Queen who enjoys the hereditary position and is not elected.

The British system is governed by the principle of “Parliamentary Supremacy” In other words, UK believes in Parliamentary sovereignty.

In Britain, the Prime Minister should be a member of the House of Commons (Lower House) of the Parliament. In other words, the Prime Minister should invariably come from the Lower House.

 In Britain, usually, only the members of Parliament become Ministers. In Britain, the Ministers not only have individual and collective responsibility, but also have legal responsibility as well.

In Britain, ministers are required to countersign the official Acts of the Head of the State.

There is a concept of Shadow Cabinet’ in the UK. The Shadow Cabinet is basically a Cabinet formed by the opposition who keeps a check on the activities and policies of the ruling government and can replace it once the ruling party falls.

5. Consider the following statements

1. Absence of Word Federation in the Constitution
2. Inequality of representation in the Council of States
3. Residuary Powers
4. Dominance of Parliament

Identify the Unique features of Indian Unitary System from the above options.

1. 1, 2 and 3 only
2. 2, 3 and 4 only
3. 1, 3 and 4 only
4. All the above

Ans: D

Statement 1 is Correct: India is referred to as ‘Union of States’ and not a federation. India is divided into states for the administrative convenience. This can be considered as a deliberate attempt on the part of the Constitution makers to keep India unitary in spirit.

Statement 2 is Correct: In India population system has been followed and bigger states have been given greater representation than the smaller states.

Statement 3 is Correct: Article 248 provides that the residuary power of legislation rests with the Parliament and not the Legislature of the States.

Statement 4 is Correct:  As per Article 249, the Rajya Sabha can transfer any of the subjects included in the State List to the Parliament, when viewed from the perspective of national interest.

• Under Article 253, Parliament has got the supreme power to make laws for the whole or any part of the country. Likewise, it can take decisions for implementing any treaty, agreement and convention with any other country or countries.

Parliamentary supremacy over the State Legislature is also indicated in Article 3. By virtue of this Article, the Union Government can at any time change the boundaries of any existing State, merge it with some other State, create a new State out of an existing one, or abolish a State altogether.