Indian Politics Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Correct answer: War, external aggression or armed rebellion

Article 352 permits a national emergency where the security of India is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion. The last of those grounds was originally internal disturbance, a much vaguer phrase under which the Emergency of 1975–77 was proclaimed. The 44th Amendment of 1978 replaced it with armed rebellion and added safeguards: the Cabinet must recommend the proclamation in writing, Parliament must approve it within a month by a special majority, and it must be renewed every six months. The Lok Sabha can revoke it by simple majority. During such an emergency the federal structure effectively becomes unitary, Parliament may legislate on state subjects, and the freedoms in Article 19 are suspended if the ground is war or external aggression. Articles 20 and 21 can never be suspended, another change made in 1978. It has been declared three times: in 1962, 1971 and 1975. Failure of state machinery falls under Article 356 and financial emergency under Article 360.

Answer: A

Correct answer: In the Lok Sabha, on the recommendation of the President

A Money Bill may be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and only on the recommendation of the President, under Article 117. It can be moved only by a minister. The requirement of presidential recommendation reflects the principle that the executive alone can propose taxation and expenditure; the legislature grants or refuses, but does not initiate. Once passed by the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha may keep the bill for no more than fourteen days and may only make recommendations, which the Lok Sabha is free to reject. There can be no joint sitting on a Money Bill, since no deadlock can arise. A bill is a Money Bill only if it deals exclusively with the matters listed in Article 110 - taxation, borrowing, the Consolidated and Contingency Funds, appropriation, and related matters. The Speaker’s certificate that it is one is final, and that certification has itself become contentious, since it determines whether the Rajya Sabha has any real say.

Answer: A

M. Venkaiah Naidu was elected the 13th vice-president of India in August 2017, defeating Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

The vice-president is elected by an electoral college of both Houses of Parliament and is ex officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Answer: C

Correct answer: The President

The Attorney General is appointed by the President under Article 76, and must be qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court. The office holds during the President’s pleasure, so there is no fixed term. The Attorney General is the first law officer of the Government of India, advises the government on legal matters, appears for it in the Supreme Court and in any High Court where it is concerned, and has a right of audience in all courts. The office carries an unusual parliamentary position: the Attorney General may speak in and take part in the proceedings of either House and of any parliamentary committee, but may not vote. Unlike the Advocate General of a state or a government servant, the Attorney General is not a full-time salaried officer and may take private practice, though not against the government. The Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General assist, but only the Attorney General is a constitutional office.

Answer: B

The Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is appointed by the president, under Article 338 as it originally stood.

The 65th Amendment of 1990 replaced the single officer with a multi-member National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, later split into two separate commissions in 2003.

Answer: D

Article 370 accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

It limited Parliament's power to legislate for the state to defence, external affairs and communications, and let the state have its own constitution. Its operation was ended by a presidential order in August 2019, and the state was reorganised into two Union Territories.

Answer: A

Correct answer: A simple majority of members present and voting

A bill at a joint sitting is passed by a simple majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting. Because the Lok Sabha has 543 members against the Rajya Sabha’s 245, the numbers strongly favour the lower House, which is the point of the mechanism: it resolves a deadlock in favour of the chamber that carries the popular mandate. The joint sitting is summoned by the President under Article 108 where an ordinary bill has been rejected by the other House, or the Houses disagree on amendments, or six months pass without the other House disposing of it. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides, not the Vice President. Only amendments that became necessary because of the delay, or that the presiding officer allows, may be moved - the sitting is not an occasion to reopen the bill. It is unavailable for money bills and for constitutional amendment bills. It has been used three times, most recently for the Prevention of Terrorism Bill in 2002.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Article 143

Article 143 allows the President to refer to the Supreme Court any question of law or fact of public importance that has arisen or is likely to arise, and to seek the Court’s opinion on it. Two features distinguish it. The opinion is advisory and not binding on the President; and the Court is not obliged to give one, and may decline - as it did in 1993 on the Ayodhya reference. Where the reference concerns a dispute arising out of a pre-Constitution treaty with a princely state, the Court must give its opinion. It has been used sparingly but on significant questions: the Kerala Education Bill in 1958, the Berubari Union in 1960, the Presidential Poll in 1974, the Special Courts Bill in 1978, the Cauvery dispute in 1992, and the 2G spectrum case in 2012. The other articles cover the enforcement of fundamental rights (32), special leave to appeal (136) and the High Courts’ writ jurisdiction (226).

Answer: C

Correct answer: The British monarch

The Indian President is a nominal or constitutional head of state, whose position is closest to that of the British monarch: the head of state reigns, and the Council of Ministers governs. Article 74 makes ministerial advice binding, so the President exercises almost no independent power. The differences are real but secondary. The Indian President is elected, for a five-year term, and can be impeached; the British monarch is hereditary and holds office for life. But the constitutional function - assenting to legislation, appointing the head of government, acting on advice - is the same. The American President is the opposite case: separately elected, head of state and head of government at once, not answerable to the legislature and unable to be removed by it except through impeachment for specified offences. The residual powers the Indian President does hold are worth knowing: a suspensive veto on ordinary bills, the power to require reconsideration of advice once, and genuine discretion when no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha.

Answer: D

The governor of a state is appointed by the president, under Article 155, and holds office during the president's pleasure.

In practice the appointment is made on the advice of the union council of ministers, which is why the office has often been criticised as an agent of the centre in the state.