Legislature: Parliament of India, Class 11 Political Science

What Legislature is about

Weightage: Indian Constitution at Work carries 40 of the 80 theory marks in the school annual exam, shared among its chapters; project work carries the other 20 marks.Source: CBSE Political Science (028) syllabus 2026-27, Class XI course structure

Key concepts

Why we need a parliament

NCERT section Why do we need a Parliament?

• Law-making is only one of the legislature's functions. It is the centre of the democratic political process: walkouts, protests, unanimity, concern and cooperation all serve vital purposes.
• A genuine democracy is inconceivable without a representative, efficient and effective legislature; it helps people hold representatives accountable, the basis of representative democracy.
• In most democracies the executive is gaining at the legislature's expense; in India the Cabinet initiates policies and sets the agenda, so some say Parliament has declined.
• But even very strong cabinets must retain a majority, and strong leaders must answer to Parliament: this is its democratic potential.
• It is one of the most democratic and open forums of debate, the most representative organ, and above all has the power to choose and dismiss the government.

Examples in the chapter: in June 1998 the opposition walked out over urea and petroleum price hikes, forcing Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to roll back the urea hike; in March 2002 Finance Minister Jaswant Singh rolled back fertiliser price increases under opposition pressure; in February 1983 the Lok Sabha unanimously set aside business to debate Assam.

Worked example

A government with a very large majority argues that debates waste time and that the Cabinet should be allowed to make laws by decree. Using the chapter, explain why a legislature remains essential even when the executive is strong. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Law-making is only one function: the legislature also holds the executive accountable between elections, and even strong cabinets must keep their majority and answer to Parliament.
2. It is the most representative organ, voicing regions and groups that a small Cabinet cannot represent.
3. It controls money: no new tax or spending without its approval, and debate on the floor has forced rollbacks of price rises (fertiliser prices, 1998 and 2002).
4. It is the highest forum of open debate and can dismiss a government that loses its confidence; without it, the executive could become arbitrary.

Answer: A strong executive still needs a legislature for accountability, representation, financial control and open debate; law by decree would remove all four.

Bicameralism: why two Houses

NCERT section Why do we need two Houses of Parliament?

• Parliament = the national legislature; State legislature = the legislature of a State.
• Two Houses make a bicameral legislature. India's are the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
• States may choose a unicameral or bicameral legislature; the chapter notes that only six States have two Houses.

Why two Houses?
1. Large, diverse countries want to represent all sections and all regions.
2. Every decision can be reconsidered: each bill and policy is discussed twice, a double check against hasty decisions.

Purnima Banerji in the Constituent Assembly saw an Upper House as a revising body, whose views might count more than its votes, where people who could not enter 'the rough and tumble' of politics could advise the Lower House.

Germany (comparison): the Bundestag is elected; the Bundesrat represents the 16 federal states with 69 seats allotted by population ranges; its members are appointed by state governments (usually state ministers) and must vote as a bloc on their state government's instructions.

Worked example

Give two reasons why a country like India has a bicameral legislature. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. A large, diverse country needs to represent all sections of society and all regions; the Rajya Sabha represents the States.
2. Every decision is considered twice, so a hasty decision in one House can be reconsidered in the other.

Answer: Representation of regions and diversity, and a double check on legislation.

The Rajya Sabha

NCERT section Rajya Sabha

Representation of the States: the Rajya Sabha represents the States and is indirectly elected: people elect MLAs, and MLAs elect Rajya Sabha members.

Two possible principles:

• Symmetrical: equal representation for every part regardless of size, as in the US Senate.
• By population: larger regions get more seats. India follows this, with numbers fixed in the Fourth Schedule. Equal representation would give Uttar Pradesh (population about 1,998 lakh) the same seats as Sikkim (about 6.1 lakh); instead UP sends 31 members and Sikkim 1.

Term and continuity: members serve six years and can be re-elected. One-third retire every two years, with elections only for those seats, so the Rajya Sabha is never fully dissolved: the permanent House. It can meet for urgent business even when the Lok Sabha is dissolved.

Nominated members: the President nominates 12 members distinguished in literature, science, art and social service. (The side-character asks whom they represent.)

Worked example

Why is the Rajya Sabha called a permanent House? What is the advantage? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Members serve six-year terms, and only one-third retire every two years, so the House is never dissolved as a whole.
2. Even when the Lok Sabha is dissolved before elections, the Rajya Sabha can be called to conduct urgent business.

Answer: Staggered retirement keeps it continuously in existence, providing continuity when the Lok Sabha is dissolved.

The Lok Sabha

NCERT section Lok Sabha

• The Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies are directly elected by the people.
• The country (or State) is divided into territorial constituencies of roughly equal population; each elects one representative by universal adult suffrage, with every vote of equal value.
• There are 543 constituencies, a number unchanged since the 1971 census.
• The Lok Sabha is elected for five years at most; it can be dissolved earlier if no party or coalition can form a government or if the Prime Minister advises the President to dissolve it and hold fresh elections.

The chapter asks students to consider whether the number of seats should now be increased, since it has not changed since 1971.

Worked example

Compare the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on method of election and term. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Lok Sabha: directly elected by voters from single-member constituencies; Rajya Sabha: indirectly elected by MLAs (plus 12 nominated).
2. Lok Sabha: five years at most and can be dissolved earlier; Rajya Sabha: six-year terms, one-third retiring every two years, never dissolved.

Answer: Direct versus indirect election; dissolvable five-year House versus a permanent House with staggered six-year terms.

Functions of Parliament

NCERT section What does the Parliament do?

1. Legislative: Parliament enacts laws, but often merely approves them: the bureaucracy drafts bills under the minister, the Cabinet decides substance and timing, and no major bill comes without Cabinet approval. Private members' bills rarely pass without government support.
2. Control of the executive and accountability: perhaps the most vital function: ensuring the executive does not overstep and stays responsible to the people.
3. Financial: the legislature controls taxation and spending; any new tax needs Lok Sabha approval; government must account for money spent and resources sought; through the budget and annual financial statements, Parliament prevents misspending or overspending.
4. Representation: of divergent views from different regional, social, economic and religious groups.
5. Debating: the highest forum of debate, with no limit on discussion; members speak without fear.
6. Constituent: discussing and enacting constitutional amendments, which need a special majority of both Houses; both Houses have similar constituent powers.
7. Electoral: electing the President and Vice President.
8. Judicial: considering proposals to remove the President, Vice President and judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court.

Worked example

Explain the financial function of Parliament. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Government raises money through taxes, but any new tax needs Lok Sabha approval, and Parliament grants resources through the budget.
2. Government must account for what it spends and seeks; Parliament checks misspending or overspending (with CAG and Public Accounts Committee reports) and so also influences policy.

Answer: Parliament authorises taxes and spending through the budget and holds government to account for its use of money.

Powers of the two Houses

NCERT section Powers of Rajya Sabha; Special Powers of Rajya Sabha

Lok Sabha:

• Makes laws on the Union and Concurrent Lists; introduces and enacts money and non-money bills.
• Approves taxation, budgets and annual financial statements.
• Holds the executive to account with questions and supplementaries, motions and resolutions, and above all the no-confidence motion.
• Passes constitutional amendments; must approve any Proclamation of Emergency.
• Takes part in choosing the President and Vice President and in removing judges of the higher courts; sets up committees and commissions.

Rajya Sabha:

• Considers and approves non-money bills; suggests amendments to money bills.
• Approves constitutional amendments.
• Controls the executive by questions, motions and resolutions.
• Takes part in electing and removing the President, Vice President and judges; alone can initiate removal of the Vice President.
• Special power: can authorise Parliament to make laws on a State List matter. Moving a subject from the State List to the Union or Concurrent List in the national interest needs its approval, since it protects the States' powers. (In practice, members tend to represent their parties more than their States.)

Powers only the Lok Sabha has: money bills cannot be initiated, rejected or amended by the Rajya Sabha; and ministers answer collectively to the Lok Sabha alone, so the Rajya Sabha can criticise but not remove the government. Reason: the Rajya Sabha is elected by MLAs, not directly by the people; in a democracy, the directly elected House should hold the crucial powers of removing a government and controlling finances.

Co-equal powers: non-money bills, constitutional amendments, impeaching the President, removing the Vice President.

Worked example

A government has a comfortable majority in the Rajya Sabha but loses its majority in the Lok Sabha. Can it stay in office and get its budget passed? Explain. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible only to the Lok Sabha, so if it loses the confidence of that House (for example through a no-confidence motion) it must resign; Rajya Sabha support cannot save it.
2. Money bills, including the budget, can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, so without a Lok Sabha majority the government cannot get them passed.
3. The Rajya Sabha can only suggest changes to money bills and cannot reject them, so it cannot pass a budget on its own either.
4. The Constitution gives these crucial powers to the Lok Sabha because it is directly elected by the people.

Answer: No: confidence and money both depend on the directly elected Lok Sabha, so a Rajya Sabha majority cannot keep the government in office or pass its budget.

How a bill becomes law

NCERT section How does the Parliament make laws?

Types of bills: Government Bill (moved by a minister) and Private Member's Bill (moved by a non-minister); also ordinary bills, money bills and Constitution Amendment Bills.

Before introduction: law-making is also political: parties press for bills to fulfil promises; interest groups, media and citizens' forums lobby. The Cabinet weighs resources, likely support or opposition and electoral effects; in coalitions, the bill must suit all partners. After Cabinet approval, the concerned ministry drafts the bill (e.g. a bill raising girls' marriageable age from 18 to 21 would be drafted by the law ministry, perhaps with the women and child welfare ministry).

Stages in Parliament:
1. Introduction in either House (often by the minister); a money bill only in the Lok Sabha.
2. Committee stage: much discussion happens in committees, which report to the House; hence committees are called miniature legislatures.
3. Voting: the bill is debated and voted on. A non-money bill passed by one House goes to the other, which follows the same procedure.

Deadlock: if the Houses disagree, a joint session may be called; in the few joint sessions held, the decision has always favoured the Lok Sabha.

Money bills: the Rajya Sabha may approve or suggest changes but cannot reject; if it takes no action within 14 days, the bill is deemed passed; the Lok Sabha may accept or reject its suggestions (Article 109).

Assent: a bill passed by both Houses goes to the President; assent makes it law.

Worked example

What happens to a money bill in the Rajya Sabha? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha; after passage it goes to the Rajya Sabha, which can approve it or suggest changes but cannot reject it.
2. If the Rajya Sabha takes no action within 14 days, the bill is deemed passed; the Lok Sabha may accept or reject its suggested amendments.

Answer: The Rajya Sabha can only delay it up to 14 days and suggest amendments; it cannot reject a money bill.

How Parliament controls the executive

NCERT section How does the Parliament control the Executive?

The danger: the executive comes from the Lok Sabha majority and could exercise arbitrary power: the system can drift into Cabinet dictatorship, with the House simply following the Cabinet's lead. Only an active and vigilant Parliament can check it.

Parliamentary privilege: members cannot be proceeded against for anything they say in the legislature; the presiding officer decides on breach of privilege. Purpose: to let members represent people and control the executive effectively.

Instruments of control (at policy-making, implementation and post-implementation stages):
1. Deliberation and discussion: debates on bills and general discussions; Question Hour (daily, ministers must answer searching questions; perhaps the most effective vigil; highest attendance), Zero Hour (members raise any important matter; ministers not bound to reply), half-an-hour discussions, adjournment motions. Heated exchanges, walking to the well and walkouts waste time but are also political techniques to win concessions and enforce accountability.
2. Approval and ratification of laws: a bill needs Parliament's approval; even a majority government must bargain, especially without a Rajya Sabha majority (Janata Party 1977, NDA 2000). The Lok Pal Bill failed; the Prevention of Terrorism Bill (2002) was rejected by the Rajya Sabha.
3. Financial control: the budget is a constitutional obligation; Parliament can refuse funds (rare), discuss why money is needed, and inquire into misuse using reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee; through finance it controls policy.
4. No-confidence motion: the most powerful weapon. With a stable majority it is 'fictional rather than real', but after 1989 several governments resigned after losing coalition partners' support.

Conditions for effective control: adequate time, interested and participating members, and willingness to compromise. The chapter notes a decline in sessions and debating time, lack of quorum and opposition boycotts.

Worked example

Explain any four instruments through which Parliament controls the executive. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Question Hour: ministers must answer searching questions daily; the most effective vigil on the executive.
2. Approval of laws: bills need Parliament's approval, forcing bargaining (e.g. the Rajya Sabha rejected the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002).
3. Financial control: the budget must be approved; misuse examined via CAG and Public Accounts Committee reports.
4. No-confidence motion: the Lok Sabha can remove the government, as happened to several coalition governments after 1989.

Answer: Question Hour (and other debates), approval of laws, financial control and the no-confidence motion.

Parliamentary committees

NCERT section What do the committees of Parliament do?

• Parliament meets only in sessions, so time is limited, yet law-making needs in-depth study; so do examining demands for grants, departmental expenditure and corruption cases. Committees perform these functions.
• Standing committees: since 1983, India has developed departmentally related standing committees (over twenty). They supervise the work, budget and expenditure of departments and examine related bills.
• Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPCs): set up to discuss a particular bill or investigate financial irregularities; members from both Houses.
• Effect: committees have reduced Parliament's burden; many important bills go to committees, and Parliament rarely rejects their suggestions. Legally, though, no bill becomes law and no budget is sanctioned without Parliament's approval.

Worked example

Why are parliamentary committees called 'miniature legislatures', and how have they affected Parliament's work? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Much detailed discussion of bills, grants and expenditure takes place in committees, which then report to the House.
2. They reduce Parliament's burden and allow in-depth study; Parliament rarely rejects their recommendations, though formal approval stays with Parliament.

Answer: They do the detailed work of the House in small groups, making law-making and scrutiny more thorough and efficient.

How Parliament regulates itself: presiding officer and anti-defection law

NCERT section How does the Parliament regulate itself?

• Parliament is a debating forum; discussions must be meaningful and orderly to protect its dignity. The presiding officer is the final authority on regulating House business. (A Constituent Assembly view quoted in the chapter: restrictions on the legislature are only procedural; in substance there is no limit on its sovereignty.)

Anti-defection law:

• Most legislators are elected on a party ticket. To stop them 'defecting' to another party after election, the 52nd Amendment (1985) was made; it was later modified by the 91st Amendment.
• The presiding officer decides defection cases.
• Defection means: remaining absent when the party leadership asks a member to be present, voting against party instructions, or voluntarily leaving party membership.
• A defector loses membership of the House and is disqualified from holding any political office such as ministership.
• Experience: the law has not curbed defections, but has given more power to party leaders and presiding officers over members.

Conclusion: Parliament is a 'rainbow' of regions, languages, castes and religions; its members may quarrel, but they can control the executive and voice society's interests. The legislature's composition makes it the most representative organ, and therein lies its democratic potential.

Worked example

What counts as defection under the anti-defection law, and what is its penalty? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Defection: staying absent when the party leadership asks a member to be present, voting against party instructions, or voluntarily leaving the party.
2. Penalty: the member loses membership of the House and is disqualified from holding political office such as ministership; the presiding officer decides.

Answer: Absence or voting against party direction, or quitting the party; loss of seat and bar on office.

Legislature in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Why Two Houses: Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, and the Functions and Powers of Parliament
• How a Bill Becomes Law, Parliamentary Control of the Executive, Committees and the Anti-Defection Law

Legislature: key facts

Rajya Sabha

Indirectly elected by MLAs; seats by population (Fourth Schedule); 6-year term; 1/3 retire every 2 years; 12 nominated; never dissolved

UP 31 seats, Sikkim 1.

Lok Sabha

Directly elected; 543 constituencies (unchanged since 1971 census); 5 years maximum; can be dissolved earlier

Council of Ministers responsible to it.

Eight functions of Parliament

Legislative + control of executive + financial + representation + debating + constituent + electoral + judicial

Control of the executive is perhaps the most vital.

Money bill rules

1. 1.Introduced only in Lok Sabha
2. 2.Rajya Sabha can only suggest changes
3. 3.deemed passed if no action in 14 days

Article 109; Lok Sabha may accept or reject suggestions.

Law-making stages

1. 1.Cabinet decision
2. 2.ministry drafts
3. 3.introduction
4. 4.committee (miniature legislature)
5. 5.debate and vote
6. 6.other House
7. 7.joint session if deadlock
8. 8.President's assent

Joint sessions have always favoured the Lok Sabha.

Control instruments

Deliberation (Question Hour, Zero Hour, adjournment motion) + approval of laws + financial control (CAG, PAC) + no-confidence motion

Privilege protects members' speech in the House.

Committees and defection

Standing committees since 1983 (20+); JPCs from both Houses | Anti-defection: 52nd Amendment 1985, modified by 91st

Presiding officer decides defection.

How the school exam asks Legislature

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Legislature

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Rajya Sabha numbers 6-2-12

  6-year term, one-third every 2 years, 12 nominated.

  Use it when: Composition MCQs.

• Eight functions: L-C-F-R-D-C-E-J

  'Lawmakers Can Fund, Represent, Debate, Change, Elect and Judge.'

  Use it when: Functions of Parliament.

• Money bill: 1-14-0

  Starts in 1 House (Lok Sabha), 14 days in the Rajya Sabha, 0 power to reject.

  Use it when: Money bill questions.

• Control tools: D-A-F-N

  Deliberation, Approval of laws, Finance, No-confidence.

  Use it when: Control of the executive.

• Anti-defection 52-85-91

  52nd Amendment in 1985, modified by the 91st.

  Use it when: Self-regulation questions.

Legislature: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section E style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In a school exam set on the board pattern this is a 4-mark question split into 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in Legislature

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Saying the Rajya Sabha can reject money bills

  Both Houses pass ordinary bills equally.

  Wrong working

  The Rajya Sabha can reject a money bill passed by the Lok Sabha.

  Right working

  It can only suggest changes; after 14 days the bill is deemed passed.

  ✓Do this: Money bill: Lok Sabha only, 14 days, suggestions only.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Thinking the Council of Ministers is responsible to both Houses

  Ministers sit in both Houses.

  Wrong working

  A no-confidence motion in the Rajya Sabha can remove the government.

  Right working

  The Council is responsible only to the Lok Sabha; the Rajya Sabha can criticise but not remove it.

  ✓Do this: Confidence = Lok Sabha.

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Describing Rajya Sabha seats as equal for all States

  The US Senate model is well known.

  Wrong working

  Every State sends equal numbers to the Rajya Sabha.

  Right working

  Seats are by population under the Fourth Schedule (UP 31, Sikkim 1).

  ✓Do this: India: population; USA: equality.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Confusing Question Hour and Zero Hour

  Both involve raising issues.

  Wrong working

  In Zero Hour ministers must answer every question.

  Right working

  Question Hour: ministers must answer; Zero Hour: members raise any matter, ministers not bound to reply.

  ✓Do this: Question = answer; Zero = no obligation.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Claiming the anti-defection law stopped defections

  Its purpose is assumed to be achieved.

  Wrong working

  The 1985 amendment ended defections.

  Right working

  It has not curbed defections but has strengthened party leaders and presiding officers.

  ✓Do this: Purpose versus effect.

  Usually costs: Evaluation marks.

• ✗Mistake: Treating law-making as Parliament's only function

  The name 'legislature' suggests it.

  Wrong working

  Parliament's function is to make laws.

  Right working

  Eight functions, with control of the executive perhaps the most vital.

  ✓Do this: Learn all eight.

  Usually costs: Up to half the marks in a 6-mark answer.

NCERT exercise guide: Legislature

What each exercise in the NCERT chapter tests, how to approach it, and a question of the same kind solved step by step. Questions here are written in our own words.

Practice questions on Legislature

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   How many members does the President nominate to the Rajya Sabha?
   (a) 2
   (b) 10
   (c) 12
   (d) 31

   Hint

   Literature, science, art, social service.

   Answer

   (c) 12.

2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   If the Rajya Sabha takes no action on a money bill, it is deemed passed after:
   (a) 7 days
   (b) 14 days
   (c) 30 days
   (d) 6 months

   Hint

   Article 109.

   Answer

   (b) 14 days.

3. Q3 · 1 mark · MCQHarder exam level

   Consider the statements:
   1. Departmentally related standing committees have existed since 1983.
   2. Joint Parliamentary Committees have members from both Houses.
   3. Parliament usually rejects committee recommendations.
   Which are correct?
   (a) 1 and 2
   (b) 2 and 3
   (c) 1 and 3
   (d) 1, 2 and 3

   Hint

   Parliament rarely rejects them.

   Answer

   (a) 1 and 2.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · MCQHarder exam level

   Match:
   A. Question Hour 1. Members raise any matter; ministers not bound to reply
   B. Zero Hour 2. Ministers answer searching questions daily
   C. No-confidence motion 3. Lets Parliament examine misuse of funds
   D. CAG and Public Accounts Committee reports 4. Can remove the government
   (a) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
   (b) A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3
   (c) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
   (d) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

   Hint

   Questions, any matter, removal, audit.

   Answer

   (a).

5. Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder exam level

   Assertion (A): The Rajya Sabha's approval is needed to transfer a subject from the State List to the Union List.
   Reason (R): The Rajya Sabha represents the States and is meant to protect their powers.
   Choose the correct option as in the standard A-R format.

   Hint

   Special powers of the Rajya Sabha.

   Answer

   (a) Both true; R explains A.

6. Q6 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   The number of Lok Sabha constituencies has remained unchanged since the:
   (a) 1951 census
   (b) 1961 census
   (c) 1971 census
   (d) 2001 census

   Hint

   543 seats.

   Answer

   (c) 1971 census.

7. Q7 · 2 marks · Short answerExam level

   What is parliamentary privilege and why is it necessary? (2 marks)

   Hint

   Freedom of speech in the House.

   Answer

   Members cannot be proceeded against for anything they say in the legislature; the presiding officer decides on breaches. It lets members represent the people and control the executive fearlessly.

8. Q8 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Question Hour is sometimes lost for whole days because of disruptions. Explain what Parliament loses when this happens, and whether protests in the House can ever serve a purpose. (4 marks)

   Hint

   The most effective vigil versus protest as a technique.

   Answer

   Question Hour is perhaps the most effective vigil on the executive: ministers must answer searching questions daily, so lost days mean less scrutiny of administration and policy, and wasted legislative time. Disruptions also add to the decline in debating time the chapter describes. Yet the chapter notes that walkouts and protests are also political techniques to win concessions and enforce accountability: in 1998 an opposition walkout helped force the rollback of a urea price rise. Protest can serve a purpose when it draws attention to a serious issue, but routine disruption weakens Parliament's own controls.

9. Q9 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

   Using the conditions the chapter says are needed for effective parliamentary control, suggest and justify three measures to strengthen Parliament's scrutiny of the executive. (6 marks)

   Hint

   Time, participation, willingness to compromise.

   Answer

   The chapter says control needs adequate time, members who are interested and take part, and willingness to compromise, and it notes declining sittings, lack of quorum and opposition boycotts. (1) More time: a fuller calendar of sittings would allow bills, budgets and policies to be debated properly. (2) Better use of committees: sending more bills, grants and expenditure to departmentally related standing committees allows in-depth study, and Parliament rarely rejects their suggestions. (3) Stronger financial scrutiny: wider debate on CAG and Public Accounts Committee findings would check misuse of funds and, through finance, influence policy. Participation by all sides, rather than boycotts, is needed for any of these to work, and the measures should protect the opposition's ability to question the government.

10. Q10 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

    Explain the role of the Cabinet and the ministries in law-making before a bill reaches Parliament, and why the chapter calls law-making a political process as well. (4 marks)

    Hint

    Cabinet approval, drafting, pressures.

    Answer

    The Cabinet decides the substance and timing of legislation, weighing resources, likely support or opposition and electoral effects; in a coalition, the bill must suit all partners. Once the Cabinet approves the policy, the concerned ministry drafts the bill (for example, a bill on the marriageable age of girls would be prepared by the law ministry, perhaps with the women and child welfare ministry). Law-making is political because parties press for bills to fulfil election promises and interest groups, the media and citizens' forums lobby for or against them; inside Parliament, bills must still win approval, often after committee scrutiny and bargaining.

11. Q11 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    Why is the presiding officer called the final authority in regulating the House? Explain the powers the presiding officer holds over privilege and defection, and whether concentrating these powers is a concern. (4 marks)

    Hint

    Order and dignity; who decides breaches and defections.

    Answer

    Parliament can work as a debating forum only if discussions are orderly and its dignity is protected, so the presiding officer is the final authority in matters of regulating its business. The presiding officer decides whether a breach of privilege has occurred and decides cases of defection under the anti-defection law (52nd Amendment, 1985, modified by the 91st). The chapter notes that the anti-defection law has not curbed defections but has given more power to party leaders and presiding officers over members, so the concern is that a presiding officer elected from the majority side may be seen as partisan; the office must be exercised impartially for members to accept its rulings.

12. Q12 · 4 marks · Short answerExam level

    List the eight functions of Parliament. (4 marks)

    Hint

    L-C-F-R-D-C-E-J.

    Answer

    Legislative; control of the executive; financial; representation; debating; constituent (amendments by special majority of both Houses); electoral (President and Vice President); judicial (removal of President, Vice President and judges).

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What is a bicameral legislature?Show answer

   A legislature with two Houses.

2. 2.Which schedule fixes Rajya Sabha seats for each State?Show answer

   The Fourth Schedule.

3. 3.Who elects the members of the Rajya Sabha?Show answer

   The elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies.

4. 4.What is a Private Member's Bill?Show answer

   A bill introduced by a member who is not a minister.

5. 5.Why are committees called miniature legislatures?Show answer

   Because much of the detailed discussion of bills takes place in them before they report to the House.

6. 6.Which bill did the Rajya Sabha reject in 2002?Show answer

   The Prevention of Terrorism Bill.

7. 7.What is Cabinet dictatorship?Show answer

   A situation where the Cabinet leads and the House merely follows, so the executive exercises unchecked power.

8. 8.Who decides cases of breach of privilege and defection?Show answer

   The presiding officer of the House.

9. 9.Since when has India had departmentally related standing committees?Show answer

   Since 1983.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Legislature: centre of democracy, most representative organ, can choose and dismiss the government.
• ☐Bicameral Parliament: Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha; only six States have two Houses.
• ☐Two Houses: representation of regions and diversity, and a double check.
• ☐Rajya Sabha: elected by MLAs, seats by population, 6 years, one-third every 2 years, 12 nominated, permanent House.
• ☐Lok Sabha: directly elected, 543 seats since 1971 census, 5 years max, dissolvable.
• ☐Functions: legislative, control, financial, representation, debating, constituent, electoral, judicial.
• ☐Money bills: Lok Sabha only; Rajya Sabha 14 days, suggestions only; government responsible only to Lok Sabha.
• ☐Bill stages: drafting, introduction, committee, voting, other House, joint session if deadlock, President's assent.
• ☐Control: privilege, Question Hour, Zero Hour, approval of laws, budget with CAG and PAC, no-confidence motion.
• ☐Committees: standing committees since 1983; JPCs from both Houses.
• ☐Anti-defection: 52nd Amendment (1985), modified by 91st; presiding officer decides; strengthened party leaders.

Legislature: frequently asked questions