BPSC 66th Mains (GS-II)
Polity
"The role of the President of India is like an old man in family who has all the authorities, however he cannot do anything if the naughty young members of the family do not listen him". Evaluate.
Approach:
- Constitutional position of the President
- Discretionary and other powers of the President
- Limitations on the powers of the President
- Conclusion with some examples of Activist Presidents
Constitutional position of the President
- President is the executive head of the state. All the decisions of the Union executive are taken in his name.
- He is regarded as the first citizen of the state of India.
- He is the supreme commander of Armed forces.
- He is the highest constitutionary functionary of the state.
Though the President is regarded as the head of the state, there is a general conception regarding the President as 'A rubber stamp' of the Union government. But in reality, the constitution of India not explicitly but implicitly provided many discretionary powers to the President through various provisions. These are mentioned below:
- The President can send back the advice/bill for reconsideration to the council of ministers once.
- President can apply his veto power in his discretion and may withhold his assent for an indefinite period of time, thus making the bill lapse automatically.
- As per Article 78, the President can call upon the Prime Minister and ask for relevant information related to state affairs.
- When there is no clear majority in the Lok Sabha, President in his discretion can invite leader of any political party to form the new government who is confident of proving the majority.
- When the ruling party lost majority, the President has the power to dissolve the Lok Sabha and may invite other political party to form government.
- Under Article 72, President has the power to grant pardon, reprieve, respite, remission or commutation.
- In case, the governor of a state sent a letter for the application of President rule in the state. The President has the discretionary power to do or not to do so. He can send the letter for reconsideration.
Other powers of the President -
- Military power - He is the supreme commander of Armed forces. He declares war and peace.
- Diplomatic power - He represent India at international level. International treaties and agreements are made in his name.
- Emergency power - He enjoys three types of emergency powers: National emergency (Article 352), Presidential rule (Article 356) and Financial emergency (Article 360).
- Financial power - President causes the budget to be laid before the parliament. Money bills can be introduced only with the prior recommendation of the President. Money can be released from the contingency fund after the sanction of the President. No demand for grant can be made without the recommendation of the President. The President constitutes Finance Commission after every 5 years to look after the financial condition of the state.
- Administrative/Executive powers - He is the executive head of the state. All the executive decisions are taken in his name.
- Legislative power - Under Article 123, the President can issue ordinance which has the same effect as that of an act passed by the parliament.
Limitations on the powers of the President -
- As per Article 74, the President must act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. Also, he can only send the advice/bill once for reconsideration and if the advice/bill is again sent to the President for his assent with or without modification, he is bound to give his assent.
- The President is only the nominal head of the state and the real executive power is enjoyed by council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
- Supreme Court clarified that the satisfaction of the President doesn't account for his personal satisfaction rather it is the satisfaction of council of ministers.
From the above discussion, it is clear that the constitution of India has given enormous powers to the President but with some limitations. It depends on the very person who occupies the position of the President which can make the difference. We have seen many activist Presidents like Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Zail Singh, KR Narayan, APJ Abdul Kalam, Pranav Mukherjee, etc who have asserted themselves for the cause of the democracy and larger interest of the nation. However, there were some Presidents who can be described as PM's President who doesn't assert themselves.
The former President KR Narayan described the position of Indian President as an emergency lamp who doesn't assert himself in normal but in case there is a threat to democracy, he can use his powers to fight off it.
Thus, we can't truly say that the President is like an old man who can't do anything. He can actively lead the country by putting nation's interest first while discharging his duties. It all depends on the nature and intention of the person who holds that prestigious position.
BPSC 66th Mains - Polity (GS - II)
Question 2: "Indian federal structure is constitutionally oriented towards the central government." Explain.
Question 3: "The uneven development of Indian states has created many socio-economic and political problems." Critically analyse the statement with special reference to Bihar.
Question 4: "Parliament of India is an effective forum of national integration." Discuss.
BPSC 66th Mains - History (GS -I)
Question 1: What were the causes of the Santhal revolt? What were its course and outcome?
Question 2: Explain the characteristics of Birsa Movement.
Notes to boost your Preparation
Optional Notes
Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own.
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