Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Polity & International Relations) – June 24, 2020

The Election Commission is a permanent and an independent body established by the Constitution of India directly to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

• Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of president of India and the office of vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission.
• Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense that it is common to both the Central government and the state governments.
• It must be noted here that the election commission is not concerned with the elections to panchayats and muncipalities in the states.
  NOTE: Elections to local bodies are dealt by state election commission.

According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:

• High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
• A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
• The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
• The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

One of the controversies about the Preamble is as to whether it is a part of the Constitution or not.

• In the Berubari Union case (1960), the Supreme Court said that the Preamble shows the general purposes behind the several provisions in the Constitution, and is thus a key to the minds of the makers of the Constitution.
• Further, where the terms used in any article are ambiguous or capable of more than one meaning, some assistance at interpretation may be taken from the objectives enshrined in the Preamble. Despite this recognition of the significance of the Preamble, the Supreme Court specifically opined that Preamble is not a part of the Constitution.
• In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court rejected the earlier opinion and held that Preamble is a part of the Constitution. It observed that the Preamble is of extreme importance and the Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of the grand and noble vision expressed in the Preamble.
• In the LIC of India case (1995) also, the Supreme Court again held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.

The country’s law on our right to information was enacted in 2005.

• However, since 1975, in multiple judgments, the Supreme Court has recognized the right to information as a fundamental right of citizens under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution on our freedom of speech and expression.
• This has been read together with Articles 14, 19 and 21 to guarantee our right to equality, right to freedom of speech and expression, and our right to life and liberty, respectively.
• It was those judgments, together with the RTI movements by citizens, which culminated in the RTI Act of 2005.
• This was an Act of Parliament that set forth a practical regime and framework to grant citizens this right and replaced the erstwhile Freedom of Information Act, 2002.

Formally, the Constitution was made by the Constituent Assembly which had been elected for undivided India. It held its first sitting on 9 December1946 and reassembled as Constituent Assembly for divided India on 14 August 1947.

Its members were chosen by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies that had been established under the Government of India Act, 1935.

The Constituent Assembly was composed roughly along the lines suggested by the plan proposed by the committee of the British cabinet, known as the Cabinet Mission. According to this plan:

• Each Province and each Princely State or group of States were allotted seats proportional to their respective population roughly in the ratio of 1:10,00,000. As a result the Provinces (that were under direct British rule) were to elect 292 members while the Princely States were allotted a minimum of 93 seats.
• The seats in each Province were distributed among the three main communities, Muslims, Sikhs and general, in proportion to their respective populations.
• Members of each community in the Provincial Legislative Assembly elected their own representatives by the method of proportional representation with single transferable vote.
• The method of selection in the case of representatives of Princely States was to be determined by consultation.

The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in constituency is declared elected.

• The winning candidate need not secure a majority of the votes. This method is called the First Past the Post (FPTP) system.
• In the electoral race, the candidate who is ahead of others, who crosses the winning post first of all, is the winner. This method is also called the Plurality System.
• This is the method of election prescribed by the Constitution.
  

The judicial powers and functions of the Parliament include the following:

• It can impeach the President for the violation of the Constitution.
• It can remove the Vice-President from his office.
• It can recommend the removal of judges (including chief justice) of the Supreme Court and the high courts, chief election commissioner, comptroller and auditor general to the president.
• It can punish its members or outsiders for the breach of its privileges or its contempt.

National Green Tribunal (NGT): The NGT was established in the year 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010 to dispose of civil cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources, including enforcement of any legal rights related to the environment (National Green Tribunal). The Act was enacted through the Parliament of India, under the provision of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which emphasizes the right to live in a clean and healthy environment.

Goods & Service Tax Council: As per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution, the GST Council has to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of Article 279A. The notification for bringing into force Article 279A with effect from 12th September, 2016 was issued on 10th September, 2016.

Central Administrative Tribunal: The Central Administrative Tribunal had been established under Article 323 – A of the Constitution for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or other authorities under the control of the Government.

Members have a right to ask questions to elicit information on matters of public importance within the special cognizance of the Ministers concerned. The questions are of four types:—

• Starred Questions– A Starred Question is one to which a member desires an oral answer from the Minister in the House and is required to be distinguished by him/her with an asterisk. Answer to such a question may be followed by supplementary questions by members.
• Unstarred Questions– an Unstarred Question is one to which written answer is desired by the member and is deemed to be laid on the Table of the House by Minister. Thus it is not called for oral answer in the House and no supplementary question can be asked thereon.
• Short Notice Questions– A member may give a notice of question on a matter of public importance and of urgent character for oral answer at a notice less than 10 days prescribed as the minimum period of notice for asking a question in ordinary course. Such a question is known as ‘Short Notice Question’.
• Questions to Private Members– A Question may also be addressed to a Private Member (Under Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha), provided that the subject matter of the question relates to some Bill, Resolution or other matter connected with the business of the House for which that Member is responsible. The procedure in regard to such questions is same as that followed in the case of questions addressed to a Minister with such variations as the Speaker may consider necessary.

NOTE:

Article 100 of the Constitution of India stipulates that at least 10% of total number of members of the House must be present to constitute the quorum to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament.

• It means that there must be at least 55 members present in the Lok Sabha and 25 members present in the Rajya Sabha, if any business is to be conducted.
• Quorum also includes the presiding officer of the particular house (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha).
• If there is no quorum during a meeting of the House, it is the duty of the presiding officer either to adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.