Q-1 If you are elected as the president of India which of the following decision can you take on your own?
(a) Select the person you like as Prime Minister.
(b) Dismiss a Prime Minister who has a majority in Lok Sabha.
(c) Ask for reconsideration of a bill passed by both the Houses.
(d) Nominate the leaders of your choice to the Council of Ministers.
Answer: (c) Ask for reconsideration of a bill passed by both the Houses.
Q-2 Who among the following is a part of the political executive ?
(a) District Collector
(b) Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
(c) Home Minister
(d) Director General of Police
Answer:(c) Home Minister.
Q-3Which of the following statements about the judiciary is false ?
(a) Every law passed by the parliament needs approval of the Supreme Court.
(b) Judiciary can strike down a law if it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.
(c) Judiciary is independent of the Executive.
(d) Any citizen can approach the courts if her rights are violated.
Answer: (a) Every law passed by the Parliament needs approval of the Supreme Court.
Q-4 Which of the following institutions can make changes to an existing law of the country?
(a) The Supreme Court
(b) The President
(c) The Prime Minister
(d) The Parliament
Answer: (d) The Parliament
A parliament is a legislature. More specifically, “parliament” may refer only to a democratic government’s legislature. The term is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which such a discussion took place.It acquired its modern meaning as it came to be used for the body of people.who would meet to discuss matters of state.
Q-5 Match the ministry with the news that the ministry may have released.
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(a) A new policy is being made to increase the jute exports from the country. |
(i) Ministry of Defence |
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(b) Telephone services will be made more accessible to rural areas. |
(ii) Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Public Distribution |
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(c) The price of rice and wheat sold under the Public Distribution System will go down. |
(iii) Ministry of Health |
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(d) A pulse polio campaign will be launched. |
(iv) Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
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(e) The allowances of the soldiers posted on high altitudes will be increased. |
(v) Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. |
Answer:
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(a) A new policy is being made to increase the jute exports from the country. |
(iv) Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
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(b) Telephone services will be made more accessible to rural areas. |
(v) Ministry of Communications and Information Technology |
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(c) The price of rice and wheat sold under the public distribution system will go down. |
(ii) Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Public Distribution |
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(d) A pulse polio campaign will be launched |
(iii) Ministry of Health |
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(e) The allowances of soldiers posted on high altitudes will be increased |
(i) Ministry of Defence |
Q-6 Of all the institutions that we have studied in this chapter, name the one that exercises the powers on each of the following matters.
(a) Decision on allocation of money for developing infrastructure like roads, irrigation etc. and different welfare activities for the citizens.
(b) considers the recommendation of a Committee on a law to regulate the stock exchange.
(c) Decides on a legal dispute between two state governments.
(d) Implements the decision to provide relief for the victims of an earthquake.
Answer:
(a) The executive (political), the government
(b) The Parliament (Lok Sabha)
(c) The Supreme Court (Judiciary)
(d) The Executive (Permanent) civil servants
Q-7 Why is the Prime Minister in India not directly elected by the people? Choose the most appropriate answer and give reasons for your choice.
(a) In a parliamentary democracy only the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha can become the Prime Minister.(b) Lok Sabha can remove the Prime Minister and the Council of Minister even before the expiry of their term.
(c) Since the Prime Minister in appointed by the president there is no need for it.
(d) Direct election of the Prime Minister will involve a lot of expenditure on the election.
Answer: The most appropriate answer is (a).
This is because, in India, only the leader of the majority party/parties in the Lok Sabha can become the Prime Minister. Moreover, if the directly elected Prime Minister who does not have the support of the majority is appointed as the Prime Minister, there are chances that policies or laws suggested by him would not be passed in the Lok Sabha. This would lead to the government being run ineffectively.
Q-8Three friends went to watch a film that showed the hero becoming Chief Minister for a day and making big changes in the state. Imran said this is what the country needs. Rizwan said this kind of a personal rule without institutions is dangerous. Shankar said all this is a fantasy. No minister can do anything in one day. What would be your reaction to such a film?
Answer: I would choose to have a majority in the Lok Sabha, as the Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha because:
- If any law is not passed by both the houses, the final decision is taken in the joint session in which members of both the houses sit together but because of the larger number of members, the view of the Lok Sabha is likely to prevail.
- The Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters too. Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other money-related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it.
- Most importantly, the Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have no confidence in the Council of Ministers, it has to quit, whereas the Rajya Sabha does not have this power.
Q-9 A teacher was making preparations for a mock parliament. She called two students to act as leaders of two political parties. She gave them an option: Each one could choose to have a majority either in the mock Lok Sabha or in the mock Rajya Sabha. If this choice was given to you, which one would you choose and why?
Answer: I would choose to have a majority in the mock Lok Sabha. This is because of the following reasons:
- The leader of the Lok Sabha is directly answerable to the public, as they are directly elected by them.
- Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the houses. However, in an undecided situation, the decision of Lok Sabha always prevails due to more members.
- Lok Sabha exercises more power in cases related to money bills as they originate here.
- The Council of Ministers is controlled by the Lok Sabha.
- Lok Sabha has more powers compared to the Rajya Sabha.
Q-10 After reading the example of the reservation order, three students had different reactions to the role of the judiciary. Which view, according to you, is a correct reading of the role of the judiciary?
(a) Srinivas argues that since the Supreme Court agreed with the government, it is not independent.
(b) Anjaiah says that the judiciary is independent because it could have given a verdict against the government order. The Supreme Court did direct the government to modify it.
(c) Vijaya thinks that the judiciary is neither independent nor conformist, but acts as a mediator between opposing parties. The court struck a good balance between those who supported and those who opposed the order.
Answer:
(a) The argument given by Srinivas is not correct. After hearing arguments of both sides the Supreme Court declared the order of the Government of India on reservations as valid. Agreeing with the valid order of the government does not mean that the judiciary is not independent. Moreover, the Supreme Court directed the government to modify its original order. This also proves that the judiciary is independent.
(b) The view of Anjaiah is correct.
(c) The view of Vijaya is not correct. The job of the courts is not to act as a mediator between the two parties, but decide the case according to its merits and the law