Political Science: Class 11 (Book 2) — Chapter 4: Executive

The government operates through three distinct organs to maintain law, order, and public welfare under a constitutional balance of power:

• Executive : The branch of government responsible for the implementation of laws and policies adopted by the legislature. It is also actively involved in framing policy.
• Political Executive : Comprises the heads of government (such as the Prime Minister, President, and Ministers) who hold overall responsibility for policy decisions and are elected for a fixed term.
• Permanent Executive : Comprises the administrative machinery ( civil servants or bureaucracy) responsible for day-to-day administration, selected on merit, and remaining in office permanently despite changes in the ruling party.

Different nations adopt distinct executive structures based on their historical and political contexts:

In 1978, the constitution of Sri Lanka was amended to introduce the system of Executive Presidency. Under this system, the President is directly elected by the people for a term of six years. The President has vast powers under the constitution, including choosing the Prime Minister from the majority party in Parliament, removing ministers, and acting as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President can only be removed by a resolution in parliament passed by at least a two-thirds majority, which must then be investigated and reported on by the Supreme Court.

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Political Analysis & Systemic Significance: This case study demonstrates how a semi-presidential system concentrates immense power in the hands of the President, making the office far more powerful than a ceremonial president in a parliamentary system like India. It also highlights the potential for conflict when the President and Prime Minister belong to different political parties.

• Historical Experience: India had already gained significant experience in running a parliamentary system under the colonial Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935 .
• Accountability and Control: The makers of the Constitution wanted an executive that would be highly sensitive to public expectations and strictly accountable to the legislature.
• Avoiding Personality Cults: A presidential system puts excessive emphasis on the president as the sole source of executive power, raising the danger of a personality cult . The parliamentary system provides multiple institutional safeguards to check such concentration of power.

• Formal Head of State: The executive power of the Union is formally vested in the President, but in reality, these powers are exercised through the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
• Indirect Election: The President is elected for a five-year term not by ordinary citizens, but by an electoral college consisting of elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).
• Electoral Principle: The election is conducted in accordance with the principle of proportional representation with single transferable vote .
• Impeachment: The President can be removed from office before the completion of their term only through impeachment by Parliament on the sole ground of "violation of the Constitution," requiring a special majority.

• Article 74(1) : Mandates that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President, who shall act in accordance with such advice.
• Binding Nature of Advice: Through constitutional amendments (the 42nd and 44th Amendments), it was established that the advice of the Council of Ministers is binding. However, the President can ask the Council to reconsider its advice once, but must accept the reconsidered advice.

While the President is generally bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers, there are three key situations where the President can act on their own discretion:

1. Reconsideration of Advice: The President can send back the advice given by the Council of Ministers and ask them to reconsider. This carries immense moral weight, even though the President is bound if the Council sends the same advice back.
2. Veto Power: The President can withhold or refuse assent to Bills (other than Money Bills) passed by Parliament. Since there is no constitutional time limit for giving assent, the President can keep a bill pending indefinitely, a practice known as a pocket veto .
3. Appointment of the Prime Minister: In a hung parliament where no single party or coalition has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the President must use discretion to decide who has the best chance of forming a stable government.

In 1986, the Parliament passed the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, which was widely criticized for attempting to curtail the freedom of the press. The then President, Gyani Zail Singh, did not take any decision on the bill. After his term, the next President, R. Venkataraman, sent the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. By then, the government had changed, and the new coalition government elected in 1989 chose not to bring the bill back, effectively letting it lapse.

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Political Analysis & Systemic Significance: This historical event illustrates the effective use of the pocket veto . By utilizing the lack of a constitutional time limit for presidential assent, the President prevented a controversial bill from becoming law without formally vetoing it, demonstrating a key informal discretionary power.

Following the March 1998 elections, no political party or coalition secured a majority in the Lok Sabha. The BJP and its allies secured 251 seats, 21 short of a majority. President K.R. Narayanan adopted an elaborate procedure, asking the leader of the alliance, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to furnish documents in support of his claim from concerned political parties, and advised him to secure a vote of confidence within ten days of being sworn in.

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Political Analysis & Systemic Significance: This highlights the growing discretionary role of the President during eras of coalition politics. The President acts as a critical constitutional arbiter to ensure that any appointed Prime Minister has a credible claim to a legislative majority.

• Election: Elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament (excluding State Legislative Assemblies).
• Removal: Can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of its members and agreed to by the Lok Sabha.
• Ex-officio Role: Acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha .
• Acting President: Takes over the office of the President during a vacancy caused by death, resignation, or removal, serving until a new President is elected.

• Head of Government: The Prime Minister is the most important functionary of the Indian political system, leading the Council of Ministers and directing government policy.
• Appointment: Formally appointed by the President, but must command the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha.
• Portfolio Allocation: The PM decides who will be ministers, allocates ranks (Cabinet Minister, Minister of State, Deputy Minister), and distributes portfolios.
• Constitutional Obligation: Acts as the primary link between the Council of Ministers, the President, and the Parliament. Under the Constitution, the PM is obligated to communicate all administrative decisions and legislative proposals to the President.

• 91st Amendment Act (2003) : Amended the Constitution to limit the size of the Council of Ministers to not exceed 15 percent of the total number of members of the House of the People (Lok Sabha) or State Legislative Assemblies. This was done to prevent bloated cabinets created to appease political factions.
• Collective Responsibility : The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. A vote of no confidence against even a single minister leads to the resignation of the entire Council of Ministers.
• Cabinet Solidarity: It \implies that ministers must publicly support all cabinet decisions. If a minister does not agree with a policy or decision of the cabinet, they must either accept it or resign.

The shift from single-party dominance to coalition governments has significantly altered the power dynamics of the Prime Minister's office:

• Erosion of PM's Authority: The Prime Minister's absolute discretion in choosing ministers, allocating portfolios, and framing policies has been curtailed by the need to negotiate with coalition partners.
• Compromise and Negotiation: Policies and programs are framed after extensive pre-poll and post-poll negotiations, forcing the PM to act more as a negotiator and consensus-builder than an independent leader.
• Increased Presidential Discretion: Coalition eras have expanded the discretionary role of the President in selecting the Prime Minister and managing political instability.

• Administrative Machinery: Comprises the trained, skilled, and permanent civil servants who assist ministers in formulating and implementing public policies.
• Political Neutrality : The bureaucracy is expected to remain politically neutral, executing the policies of the government of the day faithfully and efficiently, regardless of which political party is in power.
• Democratic Control: In a democracy, the administrative machinery must remain under the political control and supervision of elected representatives (ministers) and the legislature.

• Merit-Based Selection: Recruitment is conducted impartially by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at the central level and State Public Service Commissions at the state level.
• Constitutional Safeguards: Members of the Public Service Commissions are appointed for a fixed term, and their removal is subject to a thorough inquiry by a Supreme Court judge to prevent political interference.
• Social Representation: To ensure the bureaucracy is representative of all sections of society, the Constitution provides job reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Women, Other Backward Classes (OBC), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

The civil services in India are structured into three primary categories:

• Insensitivity and Power: The bureaucracy is often perceived as insensitive to the demands of ordinary citizens, leading to a gap between the administration and the public.
• Political Interference: Excessive political interference can turn the bureaucracy into an instrument in the hands of politicians, compromising its neutrality and professionalism.
• Accountability Measures: Instruments like the Right to Information (RTI) are essential to make the administrative machinery more transparent, responsive, and accountable to the citizens.