Indian Politics Questions and Answers

Answer: A

Correct answer: Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers

The Council of Ministers comprises three ranks: Cabinet Ministers, who head major ministries and attend Cabinet meetings; Ministers of State, who may hold independent charge of a ministry or assist a Cabinet Minister and do not ordinarily attend Cabinet; and Deputy Ministers, who assist and hold no independent charge. The Cabinet is therefore a smaller body within the Council, and it is the Cabinet that actually takes decisions. The Constitution as originally framed did not use the word Cabinet at all; it was inserted into Article 352 by the 44th Amendment in 1978, which required the Cabinet’s written advice before an emergency could be declared. The Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha under Article 75(3), and ministers hold office during the President’s pleasure. Its size is capped at 15 per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha by the 91st Amendment of 2003, with a corresponding cap for the states, introduced to curb the practice of enlarging ministries to buy support.

Answer: C

The right to vote is a political right, not a social right.

Social rights concern a person's standing and welfare in society - the protection of Adivasis, women and children, access to education, health and equal treatment. Political rights concern participation in governing: voting, contesting elections and holding office.

Answer: C

Correct answer: 14 days

The Rajya Sabha may hold a Money Bill for no more than fourteen days. It cannot reject or amend one; it may only make recommendations, which the Lok Sabha is free to accept or ignore. If the Bill is not returned within fourteen days it is deemed passed by both Houses. This is the sharpest asymmetry between the two Houses, and it reflects the principle that control of public money belongs to the directly elected chamber. A Money Bill is defined by Article 110 and deals only with taxation, borrowing, the Consolidated Fund and related matters. It can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, only on the President’s recommendation, and the Speaker’s certificate that a bill is a Money Bill is final. That certification power has itself become contentious, since classifying a bill as a Money Bill bypasses the Rajya Sabha altogether. Note also that a Money Bill is a narrower category than a Financial Bill, and that no joint sitting can be held on one - the deadlock the joint sitting exists to resolve cannot arise.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Dr B. R. Ambedkar

Dr B. R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly and is universally regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution. He served as independent India’s first Law Minister. He piloted the draft through the Assembly clause by clause and defended it in debate, and much of the constitutional protection of the weakest - the abolition of untouchability under Article 17, the fundamental rights, and the framework of reservation - reflects his insistence. He described Article 32 as the heart and soul of the document. The roles of the others are distinct and often confused. Jawaharlal Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution, which became the basis of the Preamble. Sardar Patel chaired several committees and led the integration of the princely states. Dr Rajendra Prasad presided over the Assembly itself. Ambedkar was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990, and his birthday on 14 April is observed nationally.

Answer: B

The quorum for a sitting is one-tenth of the total membership of the House, including the presiding officer.

For the Lok Sabha that is 55 members. If there is no quorum, the presiding officer must adjourn the House or suspend the sitting until there is.

Answer: A

The Supreme Court at Calcutta was set up by the Regulating Act of 1773.

It had a chief justice and three other judges appointed by the Crown, with jurisdiction over British subjects in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It was the first court in India established by Parliament rather than by the Company.

Answer: B

Jairam Thakur became chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in December 2017, after the BJP won 44 of the state's 68 assembly seats.

He was chosen after Prem Kumar Dhumal, the party's declared candidate, lost his own seat.

Answer: C

Correct answer: New Delhi

Article 130 provides that the Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi, or in such other place as the Chief Justice may, with the President’s approval, appoint. No other place has ever been so appointed. Proposals for regional benches have been made repeatedly - to reduce the cost and distance for litigants from the south and east - and the Law Commission has supported them, but the Court itself has resisted on the ground that a single seat preserves the unity and consistency of its jurisprudence. It was inaugurated on 28 January 1950, two days after the Constitution came into force, succeeding the Federal Court of India established in 1937 and the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. It began with a Chief Justice and seven judges and now has a sanctioned strength of 34. The High Courts named in the distractors are all significant and older - Calcutta, Bombay and Madras date from 1862 - but they are not the seat of the Supreme Court.

Answer: D

Correct answer: The President

The Governor is appointed by the President under Article 155, by warrant under hand and seal, and holds office during the President’s pleasure for a term of five years. This is a deliberate departure from the American model, where state governors are elected. It was borrowed from Canada, and it makes the Governor an agent of the centre as well as the constitutional head of the state - a dual role that is the source of most controversy about the office. The Governor acts on the advice of the state Council of Ministers in almost all matters, but retains discretion in a few: reserving a bill for the President’s consideration, recommending President’s Rule under Article 356, and appointing a Chief Minister where no party has a clear majority. Because there is no fixed security of tenure, governors have often been replaced when the government at the centre changes. The Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions both recommended safeguards, including consultation with the Chief Minister before appointment.

Answer: B

P.M. Sayeed had the longest tenure from one constituency among those listed, representing Lakshadweep for ten consecutive terms from 1967 to 2004.

He served as Union Power Minister and as Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.