Indian Politics Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The two cities are Bhilwara and Pali.

In early September 2024 (notification of 2 September) the Rajasthan Autonomous Governance (Local Self Government) Department upgraded the city councils of Bhilwara and Pali to municipal corporations under the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009. Bhilwara became the first city to get corporation status without being a divisional headquarters.

Udaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Ajmer already had corporations, and Kota's two corporations date from the 2019 split. Alwar was not among the cities upgraded. The paper prints the name as 'Bhilwada'.

Answer: C

The incorrect statement is The term of the Chief Minister is fixed.

The Chief Minister holds office during the pleasure of the Governor (Article 164), which in practice means as long as he or she has the support of a majority in the Assembly. The Constitution fixes no term, so this statement is wrong.

The other three are correct: the Constitution prescribes no special procedure for choosing the Chief Minister, the Governor administers the oaths of office and secrecy before he or she enters office, and the office is held during the Governor's pleasure.

Answer: B

A State Human Rights Commission can inquire only into subjects in the State List (List II) and Concurrent List (List III).

Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, a State Commission may inquire into violations of human rights relating to matters in the State List and the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule.

Matters in the Union List fall to the National Human Rights Commission, so every option including List I is wrong for a State Commission.

Answer: B

The first State Election Commissioner of Rajasthan was Shri Amar Singh Rathore.

The Rajasthan State Election Commission was set up in July 1994 under Article 243K, after the 73rd and 74th Amendments, to conduct elections to panchayats and urban local bodies. Amar Singh Rathore was its first Commissioner, serving from 1994 to 2000, the longest tenure in the post.

The other names were not the first holder of the office.

Answer: D

The Act does not include an appeal period of one year.

Under the Rajasthan Guaranteed Delivery of Public Services Act, 2011, an applicant whose application is rejected, or not decided in time, may file a first appeal within thirty days, not one year, so option D is the statement the Act does not contain.

The other three are features of the Act: the stipulated time starts from the date the application is submitted, every application must be acknowledged, and a designated officer who rejects an application must record the reasons in writing.

Answer: B

The Panchayati Raj system was first started in Rajasthan.

Following the Balwantrai Mehta Committee's recommendation of democratic decentralisation, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the three-tier Panchayati Raj system at Nagaur in Rajasthan on 2 October 1959.

Andhra Pradesh followed later the same year, which makes it the common trap. Madhya Pradesh and Bihar came afterwards.

Answer: D

The term that is not a type of municipality is Finance Commission.

Article 243Q, inserted by the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, provides for three types of municipalities: a Nagar Panchayat for an area in transition from rural to urban, a Municipal Council for a smaller urban area, and a Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area.

The State Finance Commission (Article 243Y, read with 243I) reviews municipal finances, but it is a constitutional body, not a type of municipality.

Answer: B

The Lokayukta's statutory functions do not include generating employment opportunities for the general public.

The Rajasthan Lokayukta, set up under the Rajasthan Lokayukta and Up-Lokayuktas Act, 1973, is an ombudsman: it inquires into complaints of corruption, maladministration and misuse of position by ministers and public servants, and addresses grievances of the public against them.

Creating jobs is a function of the government's departments and schemes, not of an anti-corruption watchdog. The other three options describe exactly the investigative role the Act gives it.

Answer: C

The chairperson at that date was Justice Shri Ganga Ram Moolchandani.

The Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission, constituted under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, is headed by a retired Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court. Justice Ganga Ram Moolchandani, a retired judge of the Rajasthan High Court, was its chairperson in October 2024.

The other options are not the commission's chairperson at that date; the two named without the title 'Justice' could not qualify for the post under the Act's eligibility rule.

Answer: C

The Chief Information Commissioner on that date was Shri Mohan Lal Lather.

Mohan Lal Lather, a retired IPS officer who had served as Director General of Police, Rajasthan, was named Chief Information Commissioner in July 2024, on orders issued by the Governor, with the appointment running for three years or until age 65, whichever is earlier. He held the post on 25 October 2024.

M.D. Kaurani was the first state Chief Information Commissioner, long before. D.B. Gupta held the office from December 2020, until Lather succeeded him. Madhukar Gupta is not a Rajasthan Chief Information Commissioner.