Indian Polity Quiz: Parliament

The correct answer is 79. Article 79 says: "There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States and the House of the People." The President is therefore part of Parliament even though he or she sits in neither House, because no bill passed by the two Houses can become law without the President's assent, and it is the President who summons and prorogues the Houses.

The other options are nearby Articles on other subjects. Article 70 deals with the discharge of the President's functions in other contingencies. Article 73 sets out the extent of the executive power of the Union. Article 82 provides for the readjustment of seats after each census. The chapter on Parliament runs from Article 79 to Article 122, so remember 79 as its opening Article, followed by 80 (Rajya Sabha) and 81 (Lok Sabha).

The correct answer is twelve. Under Article 80, the Rajya Sabha consists of 12 members nominated by the President and not more than 238 representatives of the States and Union Territories, a maximum of 250. The nominated members are chosen for their special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service; Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar and the composer Ilaiyaraaja are among those nominated over the years.

The wrong numbers have no basis in the Constitution. Remember too the contrast with the Lok Sabha: the President could once nominate two Anglo-Indian members to it under Article 331, but that provision lapsed in January 2020 after the 104th Amendment did not extend it. So today the President nominates members only to the Rajya Sabha. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha can vote in the election of the Vice-President but not in the election of the President, a point examiners often combine with this one.

The correct answer is G V Mavalankar. Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was elected the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 1952 and served until his death in 1956. He had earlier presided over the Central Legislative Assembly from 1946, and is remembered as the "Father of the Lok Sabha" for setting many of its conventions and procedures. He was followed by M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, the second Speaker.

The other names are all linked to legislatures, which makes them plausible. Dr Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly and then the first President of India, not a Speaker. Purushottam Das Tandon was a freedom fighter who served as Speaker of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Legislative Assembly from 1937 to 1950. Sardar Hukam Singh was a later Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the third, from 1962 to 1967. For the full set of firsts, add Meira Kumar, the first woman Speaker (2009).

The correct answer is President. After a general election, the Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha vacates office just before the new House first meets. To bridge the gap, the President appoints a member of the new Lok Sabha, usually the senior-most, as Speaker pro tem. The President administers the oath to the pro tem Speaker, who then presides over the first sitting, administers the oath to the newly elected members and conducts the election of the new Speaker. The office ends as soon as the Speaker is elected.

The Prime Minister does not appoint the pro tem Speaker; in practice the government suggests a name, but the appointment is the President's. The Chief Justice of India administers the oath to the President, not to members of the Lok Sabha, and has no role here. The Chief Election Commissioner conducts the general election but has nothing to do with the House once it is constituted. "Pro tem" is Latin for "for the time being", which describes the office exactly.

The correct answer is 6 months. Article 85(1) says the President shall summon each House to meet at such time and place as he or she thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. So Parliament must meet at least twice a year. In practice it holds three sessions: the Budget session (February to May), the Monsoon session (July to September) and the Winter session (November to December).

The other options mix this rule up with other time limits. Three months has no basis, one year would allow Parliament to go an entire year without meeting, and nine months is invented. The six-month rule also explains the maximum life of an ordinance: because Parliament must reassemble within six months, and an ordinance lapses six weeks after reassembly, no ordinance can last longer than six months and six weeks. Note that the rule is about the gap between sessions, not about the length of a session.

The correct answer is One-tenth. Under Article 100(3), the quorum to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, including the Speaker or the person acting as presiding officer. In the 543-member Lok Sabha that means about 55 members must be present. If there is no quorum, the presiding officer must adjourn the House or suspend the meeting until there is one.

The other fractions belong to other rules. One-half, that is a simple majority, is how ordinary decisions are taken. Two-thirds is part of the special majority needed for constitutional amendments, for approving a National Emergency and for removing judges. One-sixth has no role at all. The same one-tenth figure turns up elsewhere too, which makes it easy to remember: a party needs one-tenth of the seats for its leader to be recognised as Leader of the Opposition, and one-tenth of the Lok Sabha's members can demand a special sitting to disapprove an emergency.

The correct answer is Time immediately after Question Hour. In the Lok Sabha, Question Hour runs from 11 am to noon, and the period that begins at noon, when members raise urgent matters of public importance without the usual advance notice, is popularly called Zero Hour. It is an Indian innovation, in use since the early 1960s, and it is not mentioned in the Constitution or in the Rules of Procedure. Its name is usually traced to its starting time of 12 o'clock.

The other options place it wrongly. It is not a period in the last or first half of the day's proceedings as such, and in the Lok Sabha it does not come before Question Hour. One refinement is worth knowing for tougher papers: since 2014 the Rajya Sabha has taken up Zero Hour at 11 am and moved Question Hour to noon, so in the Rajya Sabha Zero Hour now comes first. The standard answer in exams, as here, describes the Lok Sabha.

The correct answer is 14 days. Under Article 109, a money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. After the Lok Sabha passes it, the bill goes to the Rajya Sabha, which must return it within 14 days from the date of receipt, with or without recommendations. The Lok Sabha may accept or reject any of those recommendations. If the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill within 14 days, it is deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form in which the Lok Sabha passed it.

So the Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a money bill; it can only delay it by two weeks at most. Seven days, one month and twenty days are all wrong figures. Keep the related rules together: whether a bill is a money bill is decided by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, whose certificate is final (Article 110(3)); a money bill needs the President's recommendation to be introduced; and the President cannot return it for reconsideration. A joint sitting is never needed for a money bill.

The correct answer is Article 108. When the two Houses disagree on an ordinary bill, because one House rejects it, the Houses disagree on amendments, or more than six months pass without the other House passing it, the President can summon a joint sitting to resolve the deadlock. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides, and the bill is passed by a majority of the members of both Houses present and voting, which gives the larger Lok Sabha the advantage. Joint sittings have been held only three times: in 1961, 1978 and 2002.

The other options are real Articles with different content. Article 85 deals with the summoning, prorogation and dissolution of the Houses. Article 105 covers the powers, privileges and immunities of the Houses and their members. Article 331 allowed the President to nominate Anglo-Indian members to the Lok Sabha, a provision that has now lapsed. Remember that a joint sitting cannot be used for a money bill or a constitutional amendment bill.

The correct answer is Article 112. The Constitution never uses the word "budget"; it speaks instead of the "Annual Financial Statement", a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for the year, which the President causes to be laid before both Houses under Article 112. It separates expenditure "charged" on the Consolidated Fund, such as the salaries of the President and judges, which is not voted on, from other expenditure, which is.

The other options are the Articles that follow in the budget process. Article 113 lays down the procedure for estimates: the demands for grants, which only the Lok Sabha votes on. Article 114 deals with the Appropriation Bill, which authorises withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund. Article 115 covers supplementary, additional or excess grants. Learning the sequence helps: 112 statement, 113 demands, 114 appropriation, 115 extra grants and 116 votes on account.

The correct answer is 7. The Public Accounts Committee has 22 members: 15 elected by the Lok Sabha and 7 elected by the Rajya Sabha, every year, by proportional representation through the single transferable vote. Ministers cannot be members. The committee examines the annual audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which is why it is called Parliament's watchdog on public spending. Since 1967, by convention, its chairman has been a member of the opposition. It is one of the oldest parliamentary committees, first set up in 1921.

The wrong options are the other numbers of the same committee and its neighbours: 15 is the Lok Sabha's share, 22 is the total, and 5 has no role. Compare the other two financial committees: the Estimates Committee has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha, and the Committee on Public Undertakings has 22 members, 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha, the same split as the Public Accounts Committee.

The correct answer is 1950. The Estimates Committee of independent India was first constituted in 1950, on the recommendation of John Mathai, the Finance Minister. It examines the estimates included in the budget and suggests economies in public expenditure, improvements in organisation and alternative policies, which is why it is often called a "continuous economy committee". It has 30 members, all elected from the Lok Sabha each year, and ministers cannot be members.

The other years are close enough to tempt. 1947 is the year of independence, 1949 is when the Constitution was adopted, and 1948 has no link to the committee. For comparison, the Public Accounts Committee is older, having first been set up in 1921, and the Committee on Public Undertakings was set up in 1964, on the recommendation of the Krishna Menon Committee. Remember the three financial committees with their numbers: Public Accounts 22, Estimates 30 (all Lok Sabha), Public Undertakings 22.

The correct answer is Anti-defection. The Tenth Schedule was added by the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985 to curb the practice of legislators switching parties for office or money. A member of Parliament or a State legislature can be disqualified if he or she voluntarily gives up membership of the party, or votes or abstains against the party's direction without its permission. An independent member who joins a party, or a nominated member who joins one more than six months after taking the seat, is also disqualified. The presiding officer of the House decides such cases, subject to judicial review.

The other options are rights found elsewhere. The right to privacy was recognised as part of Article 21 in the Puttaswamy case (2017). Universal adult suffrage is guaranteed by Article 326. The right to education is Article 21A. The 91st Amendment (2003) later tightened the Tenth Schedule by deleting the exemption for a "split" of one-third of a party's legislators, keeping only mergers backed by two-thirds.

The correct answer is One-third. The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, reserves one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies and the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, including one-third of the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It was the first bill passed in the new Parliament building, in September 2023.

The reservation does not begin at once: it will take effect after the delimitation of constituencies carried out on the basis of the first census taken after the Act, and it will last for fifteen years, which Parliament can extend. The seats reserved for women will rotate after each delimitation. The other options are wrong fractions; one-third also happens to be the share of seats reserved for women in panchayats and municipalities since the 73rd and 74th Amendments of 1992, which is where the idea first entered the Constitution.

The correct answer is Chola Empire. The Sengol is a gold-plated silver sceptre topped by a figure of Nandi. In the Chola tradition, a new king received such a sceptre from a high priest as a symbol of the transfer of power and of the ruler's duty to govern justly. On 14 August 1947 priests from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam in Tamil Nadu presented a Sengol to Jawaharlal Nehru, and it was later kept in a museum in Allahabad. On 28 May 2023, when the new Parliament building was inaugurated, it was installed beside the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha.

The Pandyan option is the cleverest distractor, because the Pandyas were also a great Tamil dynasty, but the Sengol tradition invoked in 2023 was that of the Cholas. The Gupta and Shunga empires ruled in north India and have no link to it. Questions on the new Parliament building also ask its date of inauguration (28 May 2023) and the first bill passed in it, the Women's Reservation Bill of 2023.