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The Need For Parliament

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42 views

The Need For Parliament

Uploaded by

royalroyzzgamingrrg
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Civics- VIII

Chp- 3. The Need of a Parliament


Multiple Choice Questions—(Page-219)
1.What is central to the notion of democracy?
(a) political equality
(Page -221)
2. Which one of the following functions is performed by an opposition party?
(b) highlighting drawbacks in various policies and programmes of the ruling party
EXERCISE
A. Oral Questions
1. Name the two houses of the Indian Parliament.
Ans. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

B. Multiple Choice Questions:


1. What is the term used to denote the presence of two Houses of the Parliament?
(c) Bicameral

2. Which one of the following is the basic principle of democracy? (c) Both (a) and (b)
3. Which one of the following statements is not true about the Parliament of India?
(b) Parliament decides cases in a court of law.

4. How is people's participation possible in a democratic country like India?


(a) All adult citizens are given the right to vote (Universal Adult Franchise).

C. In the question given below, there are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and
Reason (R). Read the statements and select the correct option.
Assertion (A): The executive is responsible for implementing the laws made by the
Parliament.
Reason (R): The executive is answerable to the legislature.

Ans: (b) Both A and R are true but R does not explain A.

D. Answer the following questions:


Short Answer Questions
1. (a) What is Parliament?
(b) What does the Indian Parliament manifest?
Ans:(a) Parliament is a congregation of elected representatives. It makes laws and
exercises political authority on behalf of the people. It is the supreme law-making body of
our country and the most important symbol of Indian democracy. This institution is a medium
for expressing the needs of the ordinary citizens’ apprehensions and expectations.

(b) The Indian Parliament or Sansad is the manifestation of the faith that Indians have in the
values of democracy, that is, involvement of the people in decision-making and the
government.
2. What is collective responsibility?
Ans. The Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers are jointly responsible for the decisions
taken. This is known as collective responsibility.

3. What is the difference between Question Hour and Zero Hour?


Ans. (a) Question hour is the first hour of every sitting, when the ministers answer questions
related to operation of their respective departments.
(b) Zero hour starts immediately after the Question hour. During this hour, discussions over
matters of public interest are held.
.
4. When is a coalition government formed?
Ans: (a) To form a government, the party should have at least half, that is, 272 members or
more.
(b) If no party gets a clear majority, then two or more political parties with similar objective
can come together to form a coalition government.

Long Answer Questions:

1. Describe the structure of our Parliament.


Ans. (i) The Parliament is the symbol of Indian democracy, that is, involvement of the people
in decision-making and the government.
(ii) The President and the two houses of Parliament (bicameral legislature)–Rajya Sabha
and Lok Sabha together form the union Legislature.
(iii) The President is the nominal Head of the State and Prime Minister is the actual Head of
the State.
(iv) The Rajya Sabha or Upper House is the permanent house, which has seats in proportion
to their population.
(v) The ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha is the Vice-President who presides over the
sessions in Rajya Sabha.
(vi) The Lok Sabha or Lower House has members who are directly chosen by the people by
universal adult franchise.

2. How does the Parliament control, guide and inform the government?
Ans. (i) The executive is answerable to the legislature.
(ii) The government has to give an account of its policies and expenses incurred to the
Parliament.
(iii) The opposition plays a crucial role in the system by eliciting essential information about
the functioning of the government and highlighting flaws in the policies and programmes of
the government.
(iv) Question hour is the first hour of every sitting, when the ministers answer questions
related to operation of their respective departments.
(v) Zero Hour starts immediately after the Question Hour. During this hour, discussions over
matters of public interest are held.
(vi) Thus, MPs as representatives of the people, play a key role in controlling and directing
the government for making various policies and updating the people about the actions of
the government.
3. Briefly describe the roles of the President and the Prime Minister of India.
Ans.(a) President: (i) The President is elected by members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
along with members of Legislative Assemblies.
(ii) His or her term is for 5 years but he or she can be re-elected.
(iii) President is the ceremonial or nominal Head of the State who represents India at
international forums and is the supreme commander of armed forces.

(iv) He or she appoints the Prime Minister, Governor of states, Attorney General, Chiefs of
armed forces and judges of Supreme and High Courts.
(v)The President addresses joint sittings of Parliament and can also issue ordinances when
Parliament is not in session.
(b) Prime Minister: (i) The Prime Minister is the actual head of the State and head of the
Council of Ministers.
(ii) He or she is appointed by the President and holds office for a period of five years
provided the party he or she belongs to has majority in the Parliament.
(iii) The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the Niti Aayog (Planning Commission) and also
advises the President on all important matters, including appointment of judges, Chief
Election Commissioner, etc.
(iv) He or she allocates portfolios and coordinates the work of ministers.
4. Discuss how the government makes laws and controls finance.
Ans.(i) The Parliament manages the finance of the country.
(ii) Every year, the finance minister presents the budget before the Parliament that explains
in detail the intended expenses and probable returns.
(iii) Besides, the government tables before the Parliament all proposals of new tax laws,
which are an important source of earning for the government.
(iv) The centre can make laws on 97 subjects given in the union list such as railways,
banking and currency, telephone, foreign affairs, etc. as well as on the residuary subjects
not found in any other bill.
(v) It also has the authority to amend the Constitution, but in matters affecting the state, it
has to be endorsed by the state too.
5. Compare the two houses of the Indian Parliament.
Ans.
Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha
(a) It is known as the House of People. It is known as the Council of States.
(b) The members are elected directly by the The members are elected by the members
people. of State Legislative Assemblies.
(c) The candidate must be an Indian citizen The candidate must be an Indian citizen of
of 25 years and above to contest elections 30 years and above to contest elections for
for Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha.
(d) The members of Lok Sabha are elected The members of Rajya Sabha are elected
for a period of five years. for a period of six years.
(e)The Lok Sabha can have a maximum of The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of
552 members. 250 members.
(f) The Speaker is the Presiding Officer of The Vice President of India is the Chairman
the Lok Sabha. of the Rajya Sabha.

6. Is Parliament the supreme law-making body of our country? Why/Why not?


Ans. (i) Yes, Parliament is the supreme law-making body of our country as it makes laws
and exercises political authority on behalf of the people.
(ii) To form the Parliament, people choose their representatives who take decisions
regarding growth and wellbeing of the country on their behalf. In this way, the people
indirectly control and guide the government.
(iii) Since the government is answerable to the people, it has to run its office responsibly.
(iv) This institution is a medium for expressing the needs of the ordinary citizens’
apprehensions and expectations.
Application Based Question
Lata wants to contest the Lok Sabha election. She is above 25 years of age and a
citizen of India However, she has been caught taking bribes on numerous occasions
and is facing bribery charges. Is she still eligible to contest the election? Why/Why
not?
Ans: Yes, she is still eligible to contest the selection as she is above 25 years of age and a
citizen of India. However, she has to make a legal declaration giving full details of
• serious criminal cases pending against her
• details of assets and liabilities of Lata and her family
• her education qualifications.

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