Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

Introduction

• The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are mentioned in Part V of the Indian Constitution.
• India follows a parliamentary system of government. In this system:
• President – Nominal head.
• Prime Minister – Real executive.
• According to the Indian Constitution, all ministers are equal.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar stated that if any position in the Indian Constitution were to be compared to the American President, it should be the Prime Minister, not the President.
• The Prime Minister is the first among equals.

Article 74: Council of Ministers to aid and advise President

• There shall be a Council of Ministers to aid and advise the President.
• 74(1): The President shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. The council is headed by the Prime Minister.
• Indira Gandhi's government, through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976, made it mandatory for the President to follow the advice given by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
• The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1978, by the Janata government, allowed the President to send back the advice for reconsideration once. However, if the Council of Ministers resubmits the same advice, the President must accept it.

Article 74(2): Confidentiality of Advice

• The advice tendered by Ministers to the President shall not be inquired into in any court. This emphasizes the confidential nature of the advice.

Article 75: Appointment of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

• 75(1): The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. Other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• 75(1)(A): The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
• 75(1)(B): A member disqualified under the anti-defection law is also disqualified from being appointed as a minister.
• Articles 75(1)(A) and 75(1)(B) were added by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
• 75(2): The ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President. This means they remain in office as long as they enjoy the confidence of the President (which practically means the confidence of the Prime Minister).
• Central Ministers are Individually responsible to the president.
• President has the Authority to remove ministers (As per recommendation of the Prime Minister).
• 75(3): The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
• The council of ministers will remain in power, as long as they enjoy majority in Lok Sabha.

Article 75(4): Oath of Office

• The ministers take the oath of office and secrecy before the President.
• The oath is described in the Third Schedule.

Article 75(5): Membership of Parliament

• A minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of either House of Parliament shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a minister.
• In other words, to become the Prime Minister or any other Minister, a person should be a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.

Article 75(6): Salaries and Allowances

• The salaries and allowances of ministers shall be such as Parliament may from time to time by law determine.

Article 77: Conduct of Business of the Government of India

• 77(1): All executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in the name of the President.
• 77(2): Orders and other instruments made and executed in the name of the President shall be authenticated in such manner as may be specified in rules to be made by the President. The validity of such orders cannot be questioned in court.
• 77(3): The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business. (This includes allocating portfolios to ministers).

Article 78: Duties of Prime Minister as respects the furnishing of information to the President, etc.

• It shall be the duty of the Prime Minister—
• 78(A): To communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation.
• The prime minister acts as bridge between President and Council of ministers.
• 78(B): to furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation as the President may call for; and
• 78(C): if the President so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the Council. (The President can inquire whether decisions made by ministers are personal or collective).

Appointment of the Prime Minister (Article 75(1))

• The President appoints the Prime Minister.
• The President usually appoints the leader of the party with a majority in the Lok Sabha as Prime Minister.
• In case no party has a clear majority after general elections, the President exercises his discretion and appoints the leader of the party or coalition that he believes can form a stable government. This leader is then asked to prove majority support in the Lok Sabha.

Note:

• First time President used his Descretionary powers to elect the Prime Minister , He is Charan Singh.
• In 1979, President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy appointed Charan Singh as Prime Minister, this created controversy, The opposition leader Y.B Chavan was asked to form the government but he showed no interest.
• Then instead of Babu Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh was appointed by the President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.
• President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy asked Charan Singh to prove majority within one month.
• Charan Singh Resigned on 24th day.
• The only Prime Minister, who didn't face the parliament - Charan Singh.
• There are no specific qualifications mentioned about the prime minister in the Indian Constitution.
• Minimum age to be appointed as Prime Minister is 25 years.
• The person appointed as the Prime Minister should be a member of the either house of the Parliament. In case he is not a member of either house, he should become a member within six months. Otherwise, he/she will lose the position.

Article 75(4): Oath by Central Ministers

• Central Ministers take an oath before the President.
• Their oath is mentioned in the Third Schedule.

Article 75(5): Parliamentary Membership

• The Prime Minister and other ministers should be members of the Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha).
• If someone who is not a member of Parliament is appointed as a Prime Minister or minister, they must become a member of either house within six months.

Article 75(6): Salaries and Allowances of Ministers

• The Parliament determines the salaries and allowances of the ministers.

Article 77: Conduct of Business of the Government of India

• 77(1): All executive actions of the government are taken in the name of the President.
• 77(2): Orders made in the name of the President cannot be questioned in any court.
• 77(3): The President makes rules for the more convenient transaction of government business and for the allocation of portfolios among ministers.

Article 78: Duties of Prime Minister to Furnish Information to the President

• 78(A): The Prime Minister must communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers regarding administration and legislation.
• 78(B): The Prime Minister must furnish any information the President requests regarding administration and legislation.
• 78(C): The President can require the Prime Minister to submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter decided by a minister but not yet considered by the Council.

Prime Minister & Council of Ministers

• According to Article 75(1), the President appoints the Prime Minister.
• When appointing the Prime Minister, the President usually appoints the leader of the party with a majority in the Lok Sabha.
• If no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha after the general elections, the President uses his discretionary powers to appoint a leader who can form a stable government. The appointed leader is then asked to prove a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Deputy Prime Ministers

• The post of Deputy Prime Minister is not mentioned in the Constitution.
• It is often created for political and regional reasons.
• The Deputy Prime Minister is a member of the Council of Ministers.
• There are no special powers or status associated with the post of Deputy Prime Minister.
• The Deputy Prime Minister performs the duties of the assigned portfolio.

Case: Devilal Vs Sharma Case (1990)

• The Supreme Court ruled that Devilal's oath as Deputy Prime Minister was not unconstitutional, as he was also part of the Council of Ministers.

List of Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers

Prime Minister	Deputy Prime Minister	Period
Jawaharlal Nehru	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	1947-1950
Indira Gandhi	Morarji Desai	1967-1969
Morarji Desai	Charan Singh	1977-1979
	Babu Jagjivan Ram	1979-1979
Charan Singh	Y.B. Chavan	1979-1980
Vishwanath Pratap Singh	Devilal	1989-1990
Chandra Shekhar	Devilal	1990-1991
A. B. Vajpayee	L. K. Advani	2002-2004

Note: Morarji Desai appointed two Deputy Prime Ministers. Devilal served as Deputy Prime Minister under two Prime Ministers.

Council of Ministers

• The Council of Ministers assists the President in administration by providing advice and support.
• The original Constitution did not specify the maximum size of the Council of Ministers. The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, limited the maximum size of the Council of Ministers to 15% of the total number of members of the Lok Sabha.
• There is no mention of the minimum number of members of the Council of Ministers.

Classification of the Council of Ministers

• There is no classification of the Council of Ministers in the original constitution.
• All ministers are equal according to the Indian Constitution.
• Based on the recommendation of the "Reorganisation of the Government Machinery" report by Gopalaswami Ayyangar, the Council of Ministers was first classified into three categories in 1952:
1. Cabinet Ministers
2. Ministers of State
3. Deputy Ministers

1. Cabinet Ministers

• Cabinet ministers are the most senior ministers.
• Usually, there are 15 to 20 cabinet ministers.
• The Cabinet is the highest policy-making body in the country.
• They hold the most important portfolios in the country, such as Defence, Finance, External Affairs, Home Ministry, etc.
• The term "Cabinet" was not mentioned in the original Constitution. It was added to Article 352 by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act.

2. Ministers of State

• They can assist Cabinet ministers in some cases.
• (Or) they can hold independent charge of a ministry.
• They have full authority over the portfolios assigned to them.
• They do not attend cabinet meetings.
• They attend cabinet meetings if invited by the Prime Minister.

3. Deputy Ministers

• They assist Cabinet ministers and Ministers of State.
• The post of Deputy Minister is a kind of training.
• They do not have the power to make independent decisions on the portfolios assigned to them.
• They oversee political administration and parliamentary affairs.

Kitchen Cabinet / Inner Cabinet / Internal Cabinet

• Two to four influential people who are very close to the Prime Minister are called the Kitchen Cabinet.
• This is implemented in countries like the US and Britain.
• In India, it is used depending on the context.

Shadow Cabinet

• This is implemented in Britain.
• The Shadow Cabinet is a group formed by the opposition party to question the ruling government and, effectively, form an alternative government.

Parliamentary Secretary

• This concept originated in Britain and has been adopted by various countries.
• In this system, the Parliamentary Secretary is a member of Parliament.
• He/She assists a senior minister in performing his/her duties.
• In India, there used to be a post called Parliamentary Secretary, which was a ministerial post. This post was lower in rank than a Deputy Minister.
• No one has been appointed to this position since 1967. However, in 1985, the Rajiv Gandhi government appointed some people as Parliamentary Secretaries.
• They do not have any departmental responsibilities. They only handle parliamentary affairs. This system is currently not in practice.

Collective Responsibility Principle

• If a motion of confidence introduced by the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha is defeated, the Council of Ministers/government will be dissolved.
• If a bill officially introduced by a minister in the Lok Sabha is defeated, the Council of Ministers will be dissolved.
• If a motion of thanks on the President's address is defeated in the Lok Sabha, the government must resign.
• If private bills (unofficial bills) are passed in the Lok Sabha, the government must resign.
• If a no-confidence motion introduced by the opposition against the government is passed in the Lok Sabha, the Council of Ministers (or) the government must resign.
• If a cut motion is passed in the Lok Sabha, the Council of Ministers must resign.

Individual Responsibility

Article 75(2): Ministers are individually responsible to the President.

• The Prime Minister can ask any minister who disagrees with him and the Council of Ministers to resign.
• The President removes ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• The President cannot remove ministers at his own discretion.

Ministers who resigned on grounds of individual responsibility:

1. John Mathai resigned as Finance Minister due to differences with then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on financial matters.
2. T. T. Krishnamachari resigned following the William Bose report on allegations of involvement in unethical activities.
3. A. Raja resigned in 2010 due to the 2G Spectrum scam.
4. M. J. Akbar resigned after allegations of sexual harassment by Pallavi Gogoi during the MeToo movement.

Ministers who resigned/were removed due to violation of Collective responsibility

1. In 1953, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar resigned from his post of Union Law Minister, due to differences with Nehru regarding Hindu Code Bill.
2. V.V. Giri resigned after having differences with Prime Minister Nehru, regarding the priority given to the Planning Commission.
3. Mahavir Tyagi, resigned after having differences with Lal Bahadur Shastri, regarding the Taskent Agreement, with Pakistan.
4. Morarji Desai resigned due to reducing the value of the Rupee.
5. Charan Singh resigned during the Janata government due to the Dual Membership policy.
6. V.K Krishna Menon resigned after having differences, regarding mutual contradictory statements made after the war with China.
7. Arif Mohammad Khan resigned in disagreement over the Muslim Women's Marriage, Divorce, and Rights Act, with Rajiv Gandhi.
8. M.C Changla resigned in disagreement with the implementation of Trilingual policy.
9. C.D Deshmukh resigned in disagreement with Bombay re-organisation.

Powers and Functions of Council of Ministers.

• Highest Policy Making Body in the country.
• It takes decisions regarding administration and legislature.
• It is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
• It prepares the president's address.
• All the appointments, schemes in the central level, are approved by the cabinet.
• Along with the budget, it also prepares economic policies.
• It prepares foreign policies.
• It makes changes in the policies based on the changes happening in the World.

Cabinet Committees

• The constitution doesn't mention cabinet committees.
• As it is not possible for cabinet ministers to meet often, they divide themselves into committees.
• The prime minister forms these committees. It can have 3 to 8 members.
• Normally only cabinet ministers are members of this committee. But its not mandatory to include only cabinet ministers.

Important Cabinet Committees

1. Political Affairs Committee (Super Cabinet)
   • It makes decisions on foreign and internal policies.
   • This is most powerful committee.
   • The Prime Minister is the chairman of this committee.
   • Members: Home minister, Defence Minister, Finance minister, foreign affairs minister.
2. Economic Affairs Committee.
   • It makes decisions regarding the economy.
   • Chairman: Prime Minister.
   • Members: Finance Minister, Rural Development minister, agricultural, Industrial ministers.
3. Appointments Committee
   • It recommends appointments to the various positions in the secretariats, public sector, and banking institutions.
   • Chairman: Prime Minister.
   • Members: Minister of State for Personnel, Home minister, Finance minister.
4. Parliamentary affairs committee.
   • It prepares the agenda for the Parliament meetings.
   • Chairman: Home Minister.
   • Members: Parliamentary affairs minister, Information and Broadcasting minister, law minister, Labour minister.

List of Prime Ministers of India

S.No	Prime Minister	Tenure
1	Jawaharlal Nehru	1947-1964
2	Gulzarilal Nanda	1964-1964 (Acting)
3	Lal Bahadur Shastri	1964-1966
4	Gulzarilal Nanda	1966-1966 (Acting)
5	Indira Gandhi	1966-1977
6	Morarji Desai	1977-1979
7	Charan Singh	1979-1980
8	Indira Gandhi	1980-1984
9	Rajiv Gandhi	1984-1989
10	Vishwanath Pratap Singh	1989-1990
11	Chandra Shekhar	1990-1991
12	P.V. Narasimha Rao	1991-1996
13	A.B. Vajpayee	1996-1996
14	Deve Gowda	1996-1997
15	I.K. Gujral	1997-1998
16	A.B. Vajpayee	1998-2004
17	Manmohan Singh	2004-2014
18	Narendra Modi	2014-Present

Prime Ministers who were previously Chief Ministers:

• Morarji Desai - Bombay State
• Charan Singh - Uttar Pradesh
• V.P. Singh - Uttar Pradesh
• Deve Gowda - Karnataka
• P.V. Narasimha Rao - Andhra Pradesh
• Narendra Modi - Gujarat

Prime Ministers who received the Bharat Ratna Award:

• Jawaharlal Nehru - 1955
• Lal Bahadur Shastri - 1966
• Indira Gandhi - 1971
• Rajiv Gandhi - 1991
• Morarji desai - 1991
• Gulzarilal Nanda - 1997
• A.B. Vajpayee - 2014
• P.V. Narasimha Rao - 2024
• Chaudhary Charan Singh - 2024

Non-Congress Ministers:

• Morarji Desai
• Charan Singh
• V.P. Singh
• Chandra Shekhar
• A.B. Vajpayee
• Deve Gowda
• Narendra Modi

Prime Ministers who received Best Parliamentarian Award:

• A.B. Vajpayee - 1994
• Chandra Shekhar - 1996
• Manmohan Singh - 2002

Opinions of Scholars about Prime Minister

• Ambedkar, Lord Morley: Prime Minister is the keystone of the cabinet arch.
• Lord Morley: First among equals.(Primus Inter Pares)
• Herbert Morrison: Initially he was among equals, now he is moon among stars.
• William Vernon Harcourt : Captain of the ship called government.
• Ramsay Muir: If Prime minister is sun, then the council of ministers are the planets which moves around him.
• Lord Munroe: If the Cabinet is the foundation for a building called government, then the Prime Minister is the foundation stone.
• H.R.G. Greaves: If the government is owner of country , then Prime Minister is owner of the government.
• Munro: The prime minister is the captain of the ship called state.
• Amery: Leader and primary decision maker
• B.R.Ambedkar: If you want compare any indian postion with USA president, then you can compare with prime minister position, not with the president.