Which of the following statements in respect of the election of the President of India is/are correct? 1. By convention, the Secretary General, Lok Sabha or the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha is appointed as the Returning Officer by rotation. 2. Members of the Electoral College can vote according to their wish and are not bound by any party whip. 3. The provisions of NOTA are applicable. Select the answer using the code given below.
- A.1 and 2
- B.2 and 3
- C.1 and 3
- D.1 only
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, 1 and 2. Statements 1 and 2 are correct, but NOTA does not apply to the presidential election.
The Election Commission conducts the election under Article 324 and the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952. By convention it appoints the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha or of the Rajya Sabha as Returning Officer, in turn, for each election. Voting is by secret ballot under proportional representation with the single transferable vote, and the anti-defection law does not apply, so a party cannot issue a binding whip to its members of the Electoral College. In 2018 the Supreme Court held that the NOTA option cannot be used in indirect elections such as the Rajya Sabha polls, and it is not offered in the presidential election either.
B is wrong: it includes statement 3, and NOTA is not available.
C is wrong: it includes statement 3 and leaves out the correct statement 2.
D is wrong: it leaves out statement 2, which is also correct.
Exam tip: President's poll: Returning Officer in turn from the two Houses' secretariats, secret ballot, no whip, no NOTA.
Practice Questions
View allWith reference to the election of the President of India, consider the following statements : 1. The value of the vote of each MLA varies from State to State. 2. The value of the vote of MPs of the Lok Sabha is more than the value of the vote of MPs of the Rajya Sabha. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
An MLA's vote value depends on the State's population, but every elected MP, in either House, has the same vote value.
Read the full explanation →Regarding Money Bill, which of the following statements is not correct ?
- A.A bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions relating to imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax.
- B.A Money Bill has provisions for the custody of the Consolidated Fund of India or the Contingency Fund of India.
- C.A Money Bill is concerned with the appropriation of moneys out of the Contingency Fund of India.
- D.A Money Bill deals with the regulation of borrowing of money or giving of any guarantee by the Government of India.
Show answer
A Money Bill covers appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India, not out of the Contingency Fund, so statement C is the incorrect one.
Read the full explanation →With reference to 'Scheduled Areas' in India, consider the following statements : 1. Within a State, the notification of an area as Scheduled Area takes place through an Order of the President. 2. The largest administrative unit forming the Scheduled Area is the District and the lowest is the cluster of villages in the Block. 3. The Chief Ministers of the concerned States are required to submit annual reports to the Union Home Ministry on the administration of Scheduled Areas in the States. How many of the above statements are correct?
- A.Only one
- B.Only two
- C.All three
- D.None
Show answer
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Read the full explanation →Consider the following features :
1. Consent of the governed
2. Political equality
3. Accountability of the ruled to the ruler
Which of the above feature/features outline democratic rule ?
- A.1 and 2 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1, 2 and 3
- D.3 only
Show answer
Democracy rests on the consent of the people and their equal political rights, while accountability runs from the rulers to the ruled, not the other way round.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about Section 8 of the RTI Act, 2005 is correct?
- A.It lists the categories of information exempt from disclosure
- B.It provides for the appointment of Public Information Officers
- C.It prescribes the penalty for delay in furnishing information
- D.It establishes the State Information Commissions
Show answer
Section 8(1) lists ten categories of information that a public authority is not obliged to disclose, among them information affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India, strategic and security interests, foreign relations, commercial confidence and trade secrets, information held in a fiduciary relationship, and personal information with no relation to…
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