The Constitution provides a Council of Ministers to support the President.
In this context, answer the following:
a) Explain their Individual and Collective responsibility.
b) Write any three characteristics of the Council of Ministers.
c) Write any four characteristics of the Cabinet.
Answers
Answer:
Before the 42nd amendment, Article 74(1) stated that, "there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions". ... But if the Council of Ministers sends the same advice again to the President then the President must accept it.
a) Article 75 mentions about collective responsibility and Individual Responsibility of the Ministers. Individual ministerial responsibility refers to the convention that a minister is responsible to Parliament for the actions of their department. Collective responsibility requires each minister to support each Government decision.
b) The Council of Ministers is the official name for the body that includes all the Ministers. It usually has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks
(i) Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in-charge of the major ministries. Usually the Cabinet Ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers. Cabinet is thus the inner ring of the Council of Ministers. It comprises about 20 ministers.
(ii) Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in-charge of smaller ministries. They participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.
(iii) Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.
c) Features of the Cabinet system of Government:
1. The President is the nominal executive while Prime Minister is the real executive.
2. The party which secures majority seats in Lok Sabha forms the government.
3. Political homogeneity- Usually the members of the council of ministers belong to the same political party and hence the same political ideology.