A cabinet government in India refers to a system where the real power is vested in the Council of Ministers headed by Prime minister. This Council of Minister is also known as the cabinet. In a cabinet system of governance, the President is the nominal head of the government, while the Prime Minister is the de facto head who heads the cabinet of ministers.
The cabinet government is based on the principle of collective responsibility, which means that all members of the cabinet are jointly responsible for the decisions taken by the government. This ensures that the cabinet operates as a team, they swim and sink together.
Constitutional Provisions
Article 74: – Article 74 provides for a council of ministers headed by the Prime minister to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions. The advice so tendered is binding on the President. However, President may require the council of ministers to reconsider such advice and President shall act in accordance with the advice tendered after such consideration.
Article 75: – The ministers are collectively responsible to the parliament in general and to the Lok Sabha in particular. The Prime minister shall be appointed by the President and the other ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of The Prime minister. The total number of ministers, including the Prime minister shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
Article 77: – All executive action of the government of India shall be expressed taken in the name of the President. The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the government of India, and allocation among ministers.
Article 78: – To communicate to the President all decisions of the council of ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the unio and proposal for legislation.
Article 88: – Every minister shall have the right to speak and participate in either House proceedings, any joint sitting of the Houses and any Committee of Parliament of which he may be named a member. But he shall not be entitled to vote.
Merits of Cabinet form of Government
- Collective decision-making: In a cabinet system, major decisions are made collectively by the cabinet ministers. This ensures that decisions are made after considering multiple perspectives and taking into account a range of factors.
- Efficient decision-making: The cabinet system allows for quick and efficient decision-making, as there are only 15 to 20 ministers.
- Accountability: The collective responsibility of the cabinet ensures that individual ministers are held accountable for the decisions made by the government. This helps to ensure that the government is held accountable to the people.
- Stability: The cabinet system has fixed tenure, it helps to ensure political stability by providing a mechanism for resolving disputes and conflicts within the government.
- Continuity: The cabinet system ensures continuity of policy and provisions, as governments are appointed for a fixed term and are responsible for implementing policies over the entire tenure.
Demerits of Cabinet form of Government
- Lack of transparency: The collective decision-making process in a cabinet system may result in a lack of transparency in the decision-making process. It may be difficult to determine who is responsible for a particular decision or policy, and there may be a lack of public scrutiny.
- Power concentration: In the cabinet system, power is concentrated in the hands of those 15 to 20 ministers, leading to the possibility of abuse of power or corruption.
- Groupthink: The collective decision-making process may result in groupthink, where members of the cabinet conform to the opinions of others rather than their own opinion.
- Lack of representation: As the cabinet consists of a few senior ministers only they are appointed by the Prime Minister and may not necessarily reflect the views of the wider population.
- Overreliance on the Prime Minister: The cabinet system may result in an overreliance on the Prime Minister, who exert so much power and influence over the decision-making process.
