Union Executives of India – President, Vice-President, Council of Ministers and Prime Minister

Are you ready for UPSC Exam? Check your preparation with Free UPSC Mock Test

Part V of the Constitution of India talks about the union of the country. The union consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Council of Ministers, and the Prime Minister. Understanding articles 52-73 is vital when we talk about the union.

Union

BASIC IDEA ABOUT ARTICLES 52-73

1. Article 52: The President of India

Article 52 of the Indian Constitution says that there shall be a President of the country.

2. Article 53: Executive Power of the Union

This article states that the executive power of the union shall be vested in the President and be exercised by him, directly or through the officers subordinate to him.

This article also states that nothing in this article should be deemed to transfer any functions to the president conferred by existing law on any state government or preventing the parliament from conferring by law functions on authorities, other than the president.

3. Article 54: Election of President

This article states that the President of the country needs to be elected by the elected members of both the houses of parliament and the members of legislative assemblies of states.

4. Article 55: Manner of election of President

This article states that there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation of different states at the time of the election of the president. The elections shall also be held keeping the proportional representation in mind.

5. Article 56: Term of office of President

This article states that the President shall hold the responsibilities and the office for five years from the day that he entered the office. However, he can be removed under the violation of the constitution and can be henceforth removed from the office and impeached in a manner as stated in Article 61.

6. Article 57: Eligibility for Re-election

This article states that a person who holds or has held the office as the president of the country is eligible for the re-elections.

7. Article 58: Qualification for election as a President

Article 58 states various qualifications that are needed to be the president of the country. These qualifications include -:
The candidate needs to be a citizen of the country.
The candidate must be 35 years or above.
He/She is qualified for election as a member of the house of people.
Not eligible if he/she holds any office of profit under the government of India.

8. Article 59: Conditions of President’s Office

This article talks about a few conditions of the president’s office.

Some of the conditions include that the President needs to be entitled to the office without the payment of any kind of rent and that the allowances of the President are not supposed to be diminished during his term of presidentship, and some more.

9. Article 60: Oath or affirmation by the President

This article states that any person that has been appointed as the President of the nation, needs to take an oath in the presence of Chief Justice of India, and if the CJI is not available, then the senior-most judge.

The president shall speak, “I, A.B., do swear in the name of God / solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of President (or discharge the function of the President) of India and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of India.”

10. Article 61: Procedure for impeachment of the President

The President of India can be impeached under this article if he violated the constitution. The resolution for the same needs to be passed by at least two-thirds of the house.

11. Article 62: Time of holding the elections to fill the vacancy in the office of the President and the term of office or person elected to fill a casual vacancy

This article states that the election of the new president needs to be done before the term of the previous president gets over.

12. Article 63: Vice president of India

Article 63 of the Indian Constitution talks about the duties and responsibilities of the Vice President of the country.

13. Article 64: Vice President to be ex- officio chairman of the council of states

This article talks about the Vice President to be the ex-officio chairman of the council of states. It is also said that during the time when the Vice President is acting as a President, he shall not perform the duties of the chairman.

14. Article 65: Vice President to act as the President or to discharge his functions during the casual vacancies in the office or during the absence of the President

The article says that during the time the Vice President shall act as the President when the President has resigned or has been removed due to the violation of the Indian Constitution.

15. Article 66: Election of Vice President

Article 66 talks about the qualifications that one needs to stand for the Vice President of the country. It says that if a candidate for the Vice President shall not be a member of either house of the parliament.

16. Article 67: Term of office of Vice President

Article 67 of the Indian Constitution says that the Vice President shall hold the office and responsibilities for a term of five years. However, if a resolution is passed by a council of states, then the Vice President can be removed.

17. Article 68: Time of holding elections to fill the vacancy in the office of Vice President and the term of office of person elected to fill a casual vacancy

Article 68 of the Indian Constitution says that an election for the new Vice President needs to be held before the expiration of the previous Vice President of the Country.

18. Article 69: Oath or affirmation by the Vice-President

This article says that before entering the office, the Vice President shall take an oath in the presence of the President of the country.

19. Article 70: Discharge of the President’s functions in other contingencies

This article can be taken as a provision by the Parliament of the country, as and when it thinks it is fit for the discharge of functions of the president.

20. Article 71: Matters related to the election of the President or the Vice President

This article says that if there is any conflict during the elections of the president or the vice president, then the supreme court of India has to get into the matter and solve the matter.

21. Article 72: Powers of President to grant pardons, and to remit, suspend, or commute sentences in certain cases

Article 72 states that the President can grant reprieves, pardons, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense.

22. Article 73: Extent of the executive power of the Union

This article states that the parliament has the power to make laws and have the measures to exercise it. Not just that, it holds the right to make laws for states.

QUALIFICATION AND ELECTION OF PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

Some of the qualifications that a person needs to holds if he is standing for the post of the president or vice president include –

  1. He/She must be 35 years or above
  2. He/She must be a citizen of the country
  3. Should be qualified to become a member of Lok Sabha.
  4. Should not hold any office of profit under the Government.

Moving to the election of the President of India

Article 54 of the Indian Constitution talks about the election of the president. It says that the President shall be elected by the electoral college according to a secret ballot by the system of proportional representation through a single transferable vote.

The electoral college consists of Elected members of the two Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of States. States here means the NCT of Delhi and the UT of Pondicherry.

The value of the vote of an MLA is calculated by dividing the population of the state with the total number of elected members of the state legislative assembly and multiplying it by 100.

The value of the vote of an MP of a state is calculated by dividing the total value of votes of MLAs of all states to the total number of elected members parliament and multiplying it by 100.

The procedure of electing the Vice President is very much similar to the election procedure of the President other than the members of the Electoral college.

The Electoral College for the election of the Vice president consists of both elected and nominated members of both the Houses of Parliament and the States here, have no role to play.

FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

The President is considered to be the head of the Government of India and is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed forces.

The function and powers of the President of India can be classified into several types, which are, Executive, Legislative, Financial, Judicial, Diplomatic, Military, and Emergency.

1. Executive Functions

The executive functions of the President are as follows –

a. Head of the Union

The President is the Head of the Union, therefore, he holds the right to exercise all the executive powers.

b. Appointments

The President of the country holds the right to appoint the governors of the state, the judges of the supreme court, and high court, and many other higher officials like the Election Commission, Union Public Commissions, and more.

c. Appointment of the Prime Minister

The President does enjoy some discretionary powers in this case only under exceptional circumstances. The President has a larger role to play in the case of Coalition Politics, wherein he must appoint the Prime Minister of the country.

d. Supreme Commander

The President is considered to be the Supreme Commander of the armed forces. He holds the right to sign a treaty, or declare war, as and when needed.

e. Can ask to prove majority in Lok Sabha

Usually, the council of minister remains in the office for a period of five years but the President holds the right to dissolve the Union Council of Ministers under Article 75(2) of the Indian Constitution if he feels that the Ministry does not enjoy the support of the majorities in the Lok Sabha.

2. Legislative Powers and Functions

a. Nomination

The President is responsible for ensuring adequate representation of all the sections in the Parliament. President nominates the members of both the houses.

b. Power in Respect of Bills

After a bill gets passed from both the houses, it needs to be signed by the President. He can either choose to pass the bill or can even keep it on a stand.

However, upon the disapproval of the President, if the parliament passes the same bill, even without any amendment, it becomes obligatory for the President to pass the bill this time around.

c. Bill passed by a state legislature

Under Article 200, The President enjoys the right in relation to a bill passed by a State Legislature only in the cases where those are referred to him by the Government of a State.

d. Part of parliament

The President is an integral part of the Union Legislature. He shall summon the Houses of Parliament from time to time, either separately or jointly. If needed, he also holds the power to dissolve the lower houses of the Parliament.

e. Summons and Addresses Parliament

If the President of the country has a serious disagreement with the council of ministers then he has the authority to Summon or send messages to the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha or both. He may also place the reasons for doing so.

3. Financial Powers and Functions

The President of India has an integral hold onto the finances of the country. No proposal for spending money or raising revenues for purposes of government can be introduced in Parliament without the previous permission of the President.

The Indian constitution says that the Annual Financial Statement shall be placed by the President before both the Houses of Parliament.

4. Diplomatic Powers

Since the President is considered to be the first citizen of the country, therefore, he has a hand on the diplomatic powers.

All the international treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the President by the Prime Minister of the Country. However, the President can send and receive diplomats.

5. Emergency Powers

The constitution provides the President with the right to impose three types of emergencies in the country. They are –

a. National Emergency

National emergency shall be imposed by the President if he feels that the security of India or any part of India is threatened by war.

During a national emergency, The right to freedom of speech and expression, freedom to form an association, freedom to practice and profession, etc., embodied in Article 19 shall remain suspended during the period of emergency. A national emergency can be imposed for an indefinite period.

b Failure of State Constitutional Machinery

During such an emergency, the powers of the legislatures of the State are to be exercised by the Union Parliament. The President can opt to declare this emergency in case of failure of Constitutional machinery in a State. This type of emergency can be carried for a period of three years.

c. Financial Emergency

If the president feels that the financial stability of the country is threatened then he can declare a Financial Emergency. A financial emergency can be continued for an indefinite period.

During the time of the emergency, all money-bills passed by the State Legislatures are to be reserved for the consideration of the President.

6. Military Powers

Being the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, the President can declare war or conclude peace. This shall be done on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

All the major treaties are made in the name of the President. He also appoints the chiefs of the armed forces.

7. Judicial Powers

As said in Article 72 of the Indian Constitution, the President is empowered with the powers to grant pardons in case the Punishment is for an offense against Union Law, Sentence is that of death, or Punishment is by a Military Court. Mostly, the President exercises his executive powers on the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet.

RESIGNATION AND IMPEACHMENT OF THE PRESIDENT

The president can only be impeached if he has violated the constitution of India. However, no definition has been provided for ‘violation of the constitution’ in the Indian Constitution.

In case the president has violated the constitution, the impeachment is held in the following manner.

  1. The impeachment charges are initiated by one-fourth of the members of Lok Sabha.
  2. After that, a 14-day notice is sent to the President of India.
  3. Once the charges are signed by Lok Sabha, it is then passed to the Rajya Sabha for investigation.
  4. During the investigations of Rajya Sabha, the President holds the right to be present in the sitings.
  5. If the Rajya Sabha agrees to the charges and passes it with a majority of two-thirds of the house, the President stands removed.

And if under any condition, the president of the country chooses to resign from the post then he shall submit his resignation to the Vice-President of the country.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PRIME MINISTER

The Prime Minister of India is the central representative of the Central Government. The Prime Minister is also the chief counselor to the President of India and is also the leader of the Council of Ministers. He has a few roles and responsibilities to play which are the following -:

  1. The Prime Minister of India is the Head of the Government of India
  2. He has the authority to assign portfolios to the Ministers.
  3. The Prime Minister is the chairman of the cabinet. if there is a crucial opinion difference among the members, the Prime Minister holds the power to impose his decision.
  4. He represents the country for high-level international meetings.
  5. He is the link between the President and the cabinet.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CABINET MINISTERS

The cabinet ministers are the advisors to the President. They help him exercise his powers. The 42nd amendment made the ministerial advice “expressly binding” on the President and hence boosted the constitutional authority of the cabinet ministers.

Amidst other responsibilities, the Cabinet Ministers have to meet some serious expectations such as improving the nation’s foreign affairs, strengthening the security of the country, and keeping its economy in a good state.

Other than that, the Cabinet is also responsible for the whole expenditure of the State and for raising necessary revenues to meet it. One of the most essential responsibilities of the Cabinet is to co-ordinate and guide the functions of the several Ministries and Departments of Government.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

The council of ministers advises the President in the exercise of his functions. The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

All decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation are communicated to the President by the Prime Minister.

RESIGNATION AND REMOVAL OF VICE PRESIDENT

The vice president shall submit his resignation to the President of the country and he will be removed from the duties the day his resignation is accepted.

In case of the removal of the Vice President, a resolution needs to be passed by the Lok Sabha and then the Rajya Sabha with an absolute majority which is more than 50% of the total membership. However, the Vice President needs to be given a notice of 14 days.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

The powers of the Union of Council can be divided into three major parts that are –

1. Executive Powers

It must be noted that All executive powers of the President of India are really used by the Council of Ministers. They are also responsible to formulate the policies which are to be submitted to the Parliament for approval.

Also, for all their policies and decisions the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible before the Lok Sabha.

2. Legislative Powers

The council of ministers is both the heads of government departments as well as members of the Parliament. They take a full and active part in the working of the Parliament.

Most of the bills are piloted and introduced by the council of ministers. A ministry that is backed by a majority can have its way in the Parliament.

3. Financial Powers

The Cabinet plays a leading role in this sphere. The budget is also prepared and passed by the Cabinet in the Lok Sabha. It runs a financial administration in accordance with the provisions of the budget that are previously passed by the Parliament.

If there is any action of the Parliament that is against the wishes of the Cabinet, it amounts to a vote of no-confidence against the Government. And in such a situation, the council of ministers can get their wishes fulfilled.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

The Attorney General is the Highest Law Officer in the country. He is a part of the union executive. He is appointed by the President of the country and he is provided an office under Article 76 of the Indian Constitution. Some of the qualifications to be the Attorney general are:

  1. Person should be a citizen of India.
  2. Should be qualified to be appointed as the judge of the supreme court.
  3. Should have served the high court as a judge for at least five years
    Or, an advocate of some high court for ten years
    or, an eminent jurist in the opinion of the President.

He is responsible to give advice to the Government of India upon legal matters that are referred to her/him by the President. The term of the Attorney General is not fix. He also has to look into other duties assigned to him by the President.

Conclusion

The union consists of different members that have varied duties depending upon their designation. Where the President is known to be the Head of the Union, Prime Minister is said to be the Central Representative of the central government.

It shall be noted that the functions of all the members of the union are interrelated and cannot be done without the efforts and inputs at even one stage.

Did you like this article? If Yes, please give DataFlair 5 Stars on Google

follow dataflair on YouTube

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *