MOOC On Indian Govt & Politics Module 18 PDF

**MOOC ON INDIAN GOVT & POLITICS** **MODULE-18** **The Prime Minister** **TRANSCRIPTION** **Prime Minister of India** In England the Prime Minister is regarded as the keystone of the cabinet. Just like in England, in India too Art 74 Sec 1 of the Indian constitution clearly states that there sh...

**MOOC ON INDIAN GOVT & POLITICS** **MODULE-18** **The Prime Minister** **TRANSCRIPTION** **Prime Minister of India** In England the Prime Minister is regarded as the keystone of the cabinet. Just like in England, in India too Art 74 Sec 1 of the Indian constitution clearly states that there shall be a Prime Minister as the head of the Council of Ministers. Almost all the powers that are being enjoyed by the British Prime Minister by means of their conventions are more or less applicable for the Indian Prime Minister as well. However the constitutional or the written provisions of our constitution in this regard are not very sketchy in nature. They do not cover the wide areas of the authority that the Prime Minister has to exercise in India. Moreover just like in England, in India too the Prime Minister is expected to play the role of an efficient executive in view of the paramount fact that the President constitutes the dignified part of the union executive. There are several factors that circumscribe to the authority of the Prime Minister. The powers and functions of the Prime Minister are to be examined in the light of these limitations as well that hitch around his office. Despite these limitations even then over the years the way the Prime Ministers have acted clearly leaves no doubt that the office of the Prime Minister is a significant one and it commands great authority and respect in relation to his cabinet, council of ministers, parliament and even the President of India. Appointment The Prime Minister is selected by the party having the majority in the parliament and then appointed by the President of India. Normally this election of the party comes first and the appointment by the President thereafter. What is important in this regard is not the action on part of the President in issuing an invitation to form the government, but what really matters is that the party having majority in the parliament has to deal with the crucial issue in selecting its nominee. In such a situation the President is required to act very cautiously. He might either invite the leader of the political party having a majority in the parliament to form its government, if he is absolutely sure that there is no other contestant within that party. Or he may wait till the party majority is intimated to him if he feels that a battle is likely to ensure so far as the selection of the Prime Minister is concerned. Such an incident had happened when Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was the President of India appointed Gujarilal Nanda as the officiating Prime Minister immediately after the death of Pandit Nehru. A new trend has been set thereafter that in case of the sudden vacancy of the post of the Prime Minister, the senior-most member of the cabinet is usually appointed as the Prime Minister so long the final decision of the party is yet to be made. Such an incident had happened several times and we find an exception to this said pattern can also be noticed in the year 1984 when the then President of India Gyani Jail Singh appointed Rajiv Gandhi as the Prime Minister immediately after the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi on the advice of the senior-most cabinet minister. Rajiv Gandhi however was later on accepted by the party members for his Prime Ministerial candidature. What is interesting to note here is that the language of Art. 75, sec 1 of our constitution is very inadequate. In fact it simply says that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President. It says absolutely nothing so far as the discretionary authority of the head of the state is concerned nor does it say anything so far as the Prime Minister, if he not happens to be a member of the parliament. So it can be inferred from the particular provision of the constitution that the President at the time of emergency or an extra ordinary situation he may exercise his individual judgment in appointing the Prime Minister. Here it must be noted that the extra ordinary situation implies that no political party is in a position to secure or exert their absolute majority in the parliament. It also can be inferred over an assessment of this particular provision of our constitution clearly indicates that the President can appoint any person as the Prime Minister, provided he fulfills two conditions. First of all he has to have the support of the majority behind him and in case he is not the member of the parliament, then he is required to secure a seat within next six months from the time of his appointment. And this is what had happened in the case of Narshima Rao when he was appointed as the Prime Minister of India. Term of office of the Prime Minister Generally the Prime Minister stays in his or her office for a period of 5 years i.e. from one general election till the next parliamentary election. Now at an extraordinary situation the period of Lok Sabha is enhanced, then it also indicates that the tenure of the Prime Minister will also be enhanced. But on the other hand if Lok Sabha is dissolved before the normal term of 5 years then it also indicates that at the term of the Prime Minister will immediately come to an end. So in other words, the term of the Prime Minister actually depends on the tenure of the Lok Sabha or the normal term of the Lok Sabha. Powers and Functions of the Prime Minister The powers and functions of the Prime Minister can be derived from 2 major sources. They are firstly, from the constitutional provision which are assigned to the council of ministers along with the Prime Minister and secondly from the norms and conventions from the parliamentary democracy. In order to understand the powers and functions of the Prime Minister it is essential to examine the relation which the Prime Minister shares with that of the President of India, the council of ministers, the party that he belongs to, the Lok Sabha and lastly but not the least the popular masses of our country. 1\) Relation between the Prime Minister and the President of India By virtue of being the leader of the council of ministers the Prime Minister is actually the chief advisor of the President of India. Though the administration of the entire country is carried out in the name of the President but it is done so on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister not only advices the President so far as the council of ministers is concerned but he also gives his advises with regard to important governmental appointments like the appointments of Governors of different state, the appointment with regard to the Attorney General of India, Controller and Auditor General, Chief Election Commissioner and so on. Even the decision to proclaim an emergency which is usually been done by the President of India, but he does so only on the advice of the Prime Minister of India. The Prime Minister is basically the sole channel of communication between the President on one hand and the council of ministers on the other. The President may seek for information or may ask for the day to day activities that are likely to take place in the administration of the country. And it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to furnish him with all the necessary details of the administration to the President. In case of disagreement between the two, the President may even ask the Prime Minister to reconsider a particular proposal provided that he has not done so earlier. 2\) Relation between the Prime Minister and the council of ministers The Prime Minister is the leader of the Council of Ministers. Art. 74 sec. 1 of our constitution clearly states that he is to head the council of minister. So this indicates that hierarchally he has been placed at the top most position. So far as the council of ministers is concerned they are appointed by the President but on the advice of the Prime Minister. In fact Art. 75 sec. 1 of our constitution simply says that the council of ministers has to be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. This indicates that so far as the selection of the ministers is concerned and the distribution of portfolios amongst them is concerned, it is the exclusive concern of the Prime Minister of India. Not only that sometimes Prime Minister intends to build up his cabinet as the cabinet of all talents. This was being done by Pandit Nehru at the very initial stages, immediately after independence, when we find that he included several non congress men in his cabinet If the Prime Minister enjoys the prerogative of forming the council of ministers then he has equal rights in reshuffling or redistributing the portfolios amongst them. In fact the Prime Minister at several occasions makes changes within the council of ministers. Not only that if a particular minister forfeits the confidence of the Prime Minister then the Prime Minister may demands for his resignation. But if he declines to give his or her resignation then he may even go to the extent in advising the President to dismiss him from the council of minister. The Prime Minister is also eager to retain his control over his department. In order to do so he may bifurcate or even trifurcate a department and place it under the charge of different ministers. 3\) Relation which the Prime Minister shares with the party which he belong to The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party, in fact the leader of the political party, having a majority in the Lok Sabha is usually appointed as the Prime Minister of India. So the relationship between the party and the Prime Minister are some sort of mutually interdependent on each other. The Prime Minister receives the electoral support or the political support from the party or the organization that he belong to and against it the party also demands the aspirations or the promises which the party had made before the people on the eve of the election to be fulfilled. So on one hand when the party is providing him with the electoral support as against it, it also demands that the Prime Minister would be in a position to give able and quality leadership. The Prime Minister plays a crucial role in retaining the fraternity and equality amongst the members within the party. In fact being the leader of the party it is his responsibility to retain his dignity as well as the image of the party both within the house and outside it. Now the personality of the Prime Minister on the other hand is also being projected by the party through print and electronic media. And such propagandas help to create some sort of influence amongst the people in favour of the party. So the personality, dignity and popularity of the Prime Minister to a great extent have been taken up by the media to promote a particular political organization. 4\) Relation which the Prime Minister shares with that of the President of the party Both the president of the party and the Prime Minister seems to be some sort of complementing each other in theory. But in real practice it is not so. In fact sometimes it has been found that the party president emerges as the king maker. Now there are occasions when we find that the Prime Minister emerges as the same person occupying a position the central position both within the government as well as within the party. Glaring example in this regard may be sited at the time of Mrs. Gandhi took at the second phase of Prime Ministership. 5\) Relation between the Prime Minister and the Lok Sabha By virtue of being the leader of the party having the majority in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister is also emerged as the leader of the house. As the leader both of the party commanding the majority and also as the leader of the house, he appears to be the central figure in the parliamentary affairs. The Prime Minister plays a significant role so far as the Lok Sabha is concerned. There are n- number of functions that he has to perform. First of all he has to make proposal for the dates of summoning and proroguing the session of the house. He also draws up the programmes of the official parliamentary affairs, for instance with regard to the bills, motions, discussion and so on. Though it is the President who dissolves the house but he does so on the advice of the Prime Minister. The president in this respect must be noted that the President may abide by the decision of the Prime Minister provided that he fulfills 2 condition. First of all the Prime Minister should not be a defeated minister within the council of ministers. Secondly there is no possibility of a formation of an alternative ministry in this regard. As a leader of the house the Prime Minister not only represents his own party but he is also required to act more responsibly towards the opposition. In fact he being the leader of the house he is required or he is expected to listen to the demands of the opposition bench and tries to consider the demands as far as possible. 6\) Relation which the Prime Minister shares that of the people The Prime Minister is not only the leader of the party, he is not only the leader of the Lok Sabha but at the same time he is also the leader of the masses. It is his responsibility to read the public mind and to command it accordingly to in its favour. And the people too on their part depend to a great extent on the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister shares an intimate relation with the people since it is on their electoral support that he came up to that position, but he needs to a great extent help not only his organization but even his future existence within his political system. Through the print and the electronic media the image of the Prime Minister is actually presented before the people which helped to create an image of the Prime Minister amongst the masses. Now the way the Prime Minister delivers his public speeches, his public appearances, attires, even the dress of a particular Prime Minister is popularized by the name of the Prime Minister. Again we find that these things are important in the sense that it helps to build up the image of the Prime Minister and it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to make the people aware of the governmental policies and programmes and popularize them through the media. Even at the time of socio economic political crisis the Prime Minister delivers public speeches. This is done so that the people are not panic stricken and they feel comfortable that the governmental intervention is being made to resolve such a crisis. So far as the powers and functions of the Prime Minister is concerned we can say that the Prime Minister has tremendous amount of authority in the Indian political system. Position of the Prime Minister The Prime Minister occupies a significant position in the political system of India. It is been argued that the position of the Prime Minister has been enhanced with the centralization of bureaucracy since it is been placed under his command. Not only that many went to the extent in calling the Indian political system as the Prime Ministerial government. However despite these enormous powers which the Prime Minister enjoys, yet the Indian Prime Minister cannot convert himself into a dictator due to several constitutional and political obligations. There are several factors which curb the powers of the Prime Minister. First of all the public opinion happens to be one of the important factors which to a great extent control the authority of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister to a great extent depends on the feedback of the people so far as his governmental policies and programmes are concerned. Secondly there are several interest groups and pressure groups in order to fulfill their demands may exert pressures upon the Prime Minister which in a way threatens his position. Thirdly we find that the opposition bench and the media severely criticizes the programmes and policies of the government and doing so they actually proposes a check and balances so far as the power of the Prime Minister is concerned. Finally since the 90s with an era of coalition government politics we find that the regional political powers have found to provide a constant check upon the powers of the Prime Minister. Despite these limitations to conclude the powers of the Prime Minister is not always constraint with the political situation. Along with the political situation much depends on the personal equation of the holder of the office. In fact if the Prime Minister is able to establish his legitimacy over the constitutional and institutional power structure then he is in a position to exercise more powers than one whose support structure is confined or restricted within the legal and constitutional structure of the political system.