Indian Polity Notes
Page 1: Parliamentary Terms
- Adjournment on Discussion: If the Speaker permits, other matters can be set aside to discuss this.
- Lame Duck Session: After elections to the Lok Sabha, the outgoing Lok Sabha members who were not re-elected, along with the newly elected members, hold a final session. This is called the Lame Duck Session.
- Floor Crossing: Members of an opposition party switching to the ruling party.
- Carpet Crossing: Members of the ruling party switching to an opposition party.
- Hung Parliament: When no single political party achieves an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha general elections.
- Horse Trading: Negotiations and bartering among elected representatives.
- Spoil System: A victorious political party appointing its supporters to government jobs.
- Referendum: A method used to ascertain public opinion on a specific issue.
- Plebiscite: Gathering public opinion on political and public issues through voting.
- Recall: Calling back elected representatives deemed incompetent.
- Filibustering: Opposition members deliberately obstructing parliamentary proceedings through lengthy speeches.
- Gerrymandering: The process of altering constituency boundaries to favor the ruling party's chances of winning.
- Gallup Poll: A survey conducted before elections to gauge election results.
- Exit Poll: A survey conducted after elections to estimate election results.
- Crossing: A member of one political party joining another political party.
- Carpet Bagger: A non-local candidate winning an election against a local candidate.
- Voice Vote: Expressing opinion orally.
- Guillotine: Approving bills without any discussion.
- Whip: An order issued by a political party instructing its members on how to behave in the legislature.
- Ordinance: A decree issued by the President on urgent matters when both houses of Parliament are not in session.
- Vote on Account Budget: Parliament's temporary approval of the government's essential expenditure during an election period (or emergency).
- Vote on Credit: Parliament's advance approval for the government to obtain funds from the RBI for urgent expenses.
- Manifesto: A list of programs and policies a political party promises to implement if elected.
- Sephology: The study of elections and voter behavior.
Page 2: State Government (Chapter 9)
- Both at the central and state levels, governance follows a parliamentary system.
- The Governor, the constitutional head of the state, acts as the chief executive, performing duties and exercising powers on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister.
- Part VI of the Indian Constitution, from Articles 152 to 213, comprehensively covers aspects related to the state government.
- Part VI applies to all states.
- Jammu and Kashmir has a separate constitution.
Note: Article 370, which deals with Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by the President of India through constitutional orders issued on August 5, 2019. Home Minister Amit Shah announced this in the Rajya Sabha. From October 31, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir's special constitution ceased to exist. Furthermore, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Question: Which of the following traditions regarding the appointment of a state Governor is true? (AP Constable Prelims - 2016)
(1) The person should not be a resident of that state but should belong to another state.
(2) The person's age should not exceed 60 years.
(3) The Chief Minister of the state appoints the Governor.
(4) The person should be in a legal profession.
The State Governor
Part VI of the Constitution, from Articles 153 to 167, describes the Governor's office, appointment, qualifications, removal, powers, and functions. According to Article 153, each state shall have a Governor.
The 7th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 made provisions for the appointment of a common Governor for two or more states. When the same person is appointed as a Governor for two or more states, the salary and allowances of the Governor are shared equally by the respective states. The Governor is the chief executive head of the state.
The Governor is the nominal executive head of the state. The Governor is the first citizen of the state. The minimum age required for a person to be appointed as Governor is 35 years. The Governor is appointed by the President (according to Article 155). The method of appointment of the Governor is taken from the Canadian Constitution. In America, Governors are directly elected by the voters. According to Article 157, a person to be appointed as Governor must be a citizen of India.
Should not hold any office of profit. Should not have been convicted of any crime. Must be 35 years of age. The person to be appointed as Governor should not be a member of either Parliament or the State Legislature. If he/she is a member, the membership is automatically cancelled upon appointment as Governor. Similarly, after being elected, they should not hold any offices of profit in the government.
The Sarkaria Commission made several recommendations and suggested traditions regarding the appointment of the Governor. These can be followed or not followed. They are: 1. The person to be appointed as Governor should be an expert in some field.
Page 3: State Government (Continued)
- 2. Should not be appointed as Governor of his/her own state.
- 3. The person should not have been actively involved in politics for at least 2 years before being appointed as Governor.
- 4. The Chief Minister of the concerned state should be consulted when appointing the Governor.
The Governor's term of office is generally 5 years. However, the Governor holds office only as long as the President has confidence. This means the Governor's term depends on the President's confidence. The Governor does not have security of tenure.
According to Article 156(1), the Governor can be removed by the President. No specific reasons for removal are mentioned in the Constitution. The President can remove the Governor by issuing an order. The President can transfer a Governor from one state to another. The Chief Justice of the High Court administers the oath of office to the Governor. The Governor submits his/her resignation letter to the President. Parliament determines the Governor's salary and allowances through a law. Currently, the Governor's salary is ₹3,50,000.
According to Article 154, the executive powers of the state are exercised in the name of the Governor. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and other ministers. The Governor appoints the Advocate General of the State (Article 165). The Governor appoints the Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission (Article 316). The Governor appoints the State Election Commission (Article 243K).
Which of the following is NOT appointed by the State Governor? (AP Constables Mains - 2016) (1) High Court Judge (2) Advocate General (3) Chief Minister (4) Chairman, State Public Service Commission
After the general elections and every year thereafter, the Governor addresses the state legislature. The legislature must approve this address. Otherwise, the Council of Ministers must resign. - Article 176(1) The Governor appoints the State Finance Commission (243 I). The Governor appoints the chairpersons and members of the State Official Language Commission, Minority Commission, State Women's Commission, Human Rights Commission, State SC and ST Commission, and State BC Commission.
The Governor acts as the Chancellor of state universities. In this capacity, he/she appoints Vice-Chancellors. Employees of the state government are appointed in the name of the Governor. The Governor appoints the judges of the District Courts (Article 233).
Governor's Legislative Powers:
According to Article 168, the Governor is an integral part of the state legislature but not a member. All legislative processes are linked to the Governor. The Governor has the power to summon, prorogue (adjourn for a long period), and dissolve the state legislature (Article 174).
According to Article 171, the Governor nominates 1/6th of the members to the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad). The Governor can make the final decision on the disqualification of members of the legislature on the advice of the Central Election Commission. The Governor can give assent to bills passed by the state legislature or send them for the President's consideration.
The Governor can nominate one Anglo-Indian to the Legislative Assembly according to Article 333. The Governor can issue ordinances when the state legislature is not in session (Article 213). The Governor presents the reports submitted by the State Finance Commission, Public Service Commission, and Comptroller and Auditor General before the state legislature.
Governor's Financial Powers:
The Governor ensures that the annual budget is presented in the legislature every financial year (Article 202). Money bills can be introduced in the Legislative Assembly only with the Governor's permission.
Page 4: State Government (Continued)
- Money bills can be approved or withheld by the Governor, but cannot be sent back for reconsideration.
- No new taxes can be imposed, reduced, or modified without the Governor's permission.
- The Governor manages the State Contingency Fund (Article 267).
- The Governor also manages the State Public Fund (Article 266).
Governor's Judicial Powers:
Article 161 describes the Governor's judicial powers. The Governor can reduce, modify, or revoke sentences imposed by courts. He/she can suspend the execution of sentences and also grant pardons. The Governor does not have the power to revoke the death penalty. The Governor has no power to interfere in the judgments and sentences of military courts. The President consults the Governor in the appointment of judges of the State High Court.
Governor's Special Protections:
According to Article 361(1), the President of India and the Governors of the states cannot be questioned in any court for the manner in which they exercise their official duties and powers. According to 361(2), no criminal cases can be filed against the President or the Governor in any court as long as they are in office.
Note: Padma Naidu described the Governor's post as "a bird in a golden cage".
The Governor's residence is called 'Raj Bhavan'. The Raj Bhavan for Telangana is in Hyderabad, and the temporary Raj Bhavan for Andhra Pradesh is in Vijayawada. The summer residence of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh is located at Horsley Hills in Chittoor district.
Note:: Horsley Hills local name is Yenugu Mallamma Kondalu.
Arku is called as "Andhra Ooty". Lambasingi in the Araku Valley region is called Andhra Kashmir.
- The first woman Governor in India was Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh).
- The first woman Governor of Andhra Pradesh was Sharada Mukherjee.
- The first Governor of the combined Andhra Pradesh was C.M. Trivedi (1953-57).
- The second Governor of Andhra Pradesh - Bhimsen Sachar (1957-62).
- The current Governor of Andhra Pradesh - Biswabhusan Harichandan
- The current Governor of Telangana - Tamilisai Soundararajan
- The shortest-serving Governor in Andhra Pradesh - Mohanlal Sukhadia (3 months in 1976).
- Longest serving governor in AP: ESL Narasimhan (2009 -2019)
- ESL. Narasimhan is First and Last combined Governor for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- When the President's Rule was imposed in Andhra Pradesh in 1954 the governor was CM Trivedi, CM was Prakasam Panthulu.
Page 5: State Government (Continued)
- When President's Rule was imposed in Andhra Pradesh in 1973 the Governor was Khandubhai Desai. The Chief Minister was P.V. Narasimha Rao.
- The youngest person to become a Governor in India was Swaraj Kaushal (37 years). (Mizoram, 1990-93)
Note:: Swaraj Kaushal's wife, Sushma Swaraj, created a record by becoming a cabinet minister of a state (Haryana) at the youngest age (25 years).
- The oldest person to serve as a Governor of a state was Surjit Singh Barnala (Tamil Nadu, 86 years).
- The person who served as Governor for the longest time was P.C. Alexander (Maharashtra, 1993 to 2002).
Governors of United Andhra Pradesh
| Number | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chandulal Madhav Trivedi | 1953-57 |
| 2 | Bhimsen Sachar | 1957-62 |
| 3 | S.M. Nagesh | 1962-64 |
| 4 | Pattom Thanu Pillai | 1964-68 |
| 5 | Khandubhai Desai | 1968-75 |
| 6 | S. Obul Reddy (In-charge) | 1975-76 |
| 7 | Mohanlal Sukhadia | 1976-76 |
| 8 | R.D. Bhandari | 1976-77 |
| 9 | B.J. Diwan (Incharge) | 1977-77 |
| 10 | Smt. Sharada Mukherjee | 1977-78 |
| 11 | K.C. Abraham | 1978-83 |
| 12 | Ram Lal | 1983-84 |
| 13 | Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma | 1984-85 |
| 14 | Smt. Kumud Ben Joshi | 1985-89 |
| 15 | Krishan Kant | 1989-97 |
| 16 | Gopalan Ramanujan (Incharge) | 1997-97 |
| 17 | C. Rangarajan | 1997-2003 |
| 18 | Surjit Singh Barnala | 2003-2004 |
| 19 | Sushil Kumar Shinde | 2004-2006 |
| 20 | Rameshwar Thakur | 2006-2007 |
| 21 | Narayan Dutt Tiwari | 2007-2009 |
| 22 | ESL Narasimhan | 2009 - 2014 |
- The prominent leader of Hyderabad State - Mir Osman Ali Khan (1949-1956).
- ESL Narasimhan (2014-2019), the combined Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
- Telangana (Separate) Governor - Tamilisai Soundararajan (from September 8, 2019)
- The first (separate) Governor of Andhra Pradesh - Biswabhusan Harichandan (from July 17, 2019)
Women Governors / Lieutenant Governors in India
| Number | Name | State | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarojini Naidu | Undivided Uttar Pradesh | 1947-49 |
| 2 | Padmaja Naidu | West Bengal | 1956-67 |
| 3 | Vijayalakshmi Pandit | Maharashtra | 1962-64 |
| 4 | Sarada Mukherjee | Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat | 1977-78, 1978-83 |
| 5 | Jyothi Venkatachalam | Kerala | 1977-82 |
| 6 | Kumud Ben Joshi | Andhra Pradesh | 1985-90 |
| 7 | Ram Dulari Sinha | Kerala | 1988-90 |
| 8 | Sarla Grewal | Madhya Pradesh | 1989-90 |
| 9 | Chandravati | Puducherry | 1990-90 |
| 10 | Rajendra Kumari Bajpai | Puducherry | 1995-98 |
| 11 | Sheila Kaul | Himachal Pradesh | 1995-96 |
| 12 | Fatima Bibi | Tamil Nadu | 1997-2001 |
| 13 | V.S. Ramadevi | Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh | 1997-2002 |
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