Parliament MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Parliament - Download Free PDF

The Correct Answer is ​President.
Key Points 

Powers of President

• Under Article 85(2) of the Constitution, the President may from time to time prorogue Houses or either House of Parliament.
• Termination of a session of the House by an order by the President under the above constitutional provision is called ‘prorogation’.
• Prorogation terminates both the sitting and session of the House.
• Usually, within a few days after the House is adjourned sine die by the presiding officer, the President issues a notification for the prorogation of the session.
• However, the President can also prorogue the House while in session.

Additional Information

Difference between ‘Adjournment’, ‘Prorogation’, and ‘Dissolution

• An adjournment suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time.
• The time may be hours, days, or weeks. 
• In this case, the time of reassembly is specified.

Adjournment Sine Die

• Adjournment sine die terminates a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period. 
• When the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly, it is called adjournment sine die.

Prorogation

• Prorogation means the termination of a session of the House by an order made by the President.
• Usually, within a few days after the House is adjourned sine die by the presiding officer, the President issues a notification for the prorogation of the session.

Dissolution

• A dissolution ends the very life of the existing House, and a new House is constituted after general elections are held.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

• Article 75 deals with the appointment of the Council of Ministers by the President of India.
• Council of ministers aid and advise the President in the exercise of his/her functions.
• It represents the highest executive body in the Indian polity.
• It is also called the Cabinet, where most executive decisions are made.

Additional Information

• Article 74 tells about constitution of Council of Ministers.
• Article 75 talks about other provisions(like appointment, collective responsibility to Lok Sabha, six months time for becoming MP etc.) related to the Council of Ministers.

The correct answer is The President.

• Article 108 of the Constitution lays the rule for calling of joint sitting of both the Houses of the Parliament.

Key Points

• This Joint sitting is summoned by the President in which the speaker presides over the session and in absence of the speaker and deputy speaker takes charge.
• If the Deputy Speaker is also not available then the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha takes over this.
• The rule to hold a joint sitting is that one-tenth of the total number of members of both the houses should be present.
• This situation of joint sitting arises if both the houses of the Parliament are unsuccessful in passing any bill and a situation of deadlock occurs.
• To break this deadlock, the President calls the joint sitting.
• It happens in the case when one house has passed the bill and the other one has rejected, both the houses cannot come on a common page on the amendments to be made to the bill or more than six months time has been elapsed since the bill has been received by the other house and is still not passed.
• In the case of a money bill and a Constitutional Amendment Bill, joint sitting cannot be called. 

Additional Information

• Speaker of Lok Sabha:- Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business of the House. 
  • He also maintains the discipline and decorum of the House and can also punish MPs who obstruct it. 
• The prime Minister:- According to the Indian Constitution, the Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Government and the Chief Advisor to the President. 
• Chairman of Rajya Sabha:- The Vice President of India is Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions.

The correct answer is Article 249.

Key Points

• According to article 249, the Rajya Sabha has the power to declare that the Parliament has the power to make laws with respect to any matter listed in the State List in the national interest.
• Union Parliament can legislate on any item in the State List in the national interest if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution to that effect by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.
• Article 249 empowers the parliament to legislate with respect to a matter in the
  State List in the national interest.
• A resolution passed shall remain in force for such period not exceeding one year as may be specified therein.

Additional Information

• Legislative Functions of Parliament:
  • The Parliament legislates on all matters mentioned in the Union List and the Concurrent List.
  • In the case of the Concurrent List, where the state legislatures and the Parliament have joint jurisdiction, the union law will prevail over the states unless the state law had received the earlier presidential assent.
  • However, the Parliament can any time, enact a law adding to, amending, varying, or repealing a law made by a state legislature.
  • The Parliament can also pass laws on items in the State List under the following circumstances:
  • If an Emergency is in operation, or any state is placed under President's Rule (Article 356), the Parliament can enact laws on items in the State List as well.
  • As per Article 253, it can pass laws on the State List items if it is required for the implementation of international agreements or treaties with foreign powers.
  • According to Article 252, if the legislatures of two or more states pass a resolution to the effect that it is desirable to have a parliamentary law on any item listed in the State List, the Parliament can make laws for those states.
• Executive Functions (Control over the Executive):
  • In the parliamentary form of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature.
  • Hence, the Parliament exercises control over the executive by several measures.
  • By a vote of no-confidence, the Parliament can remove the Cabinet
    (Executive) out of power.
  • It can reject a budget proposal or any other bill brought by the Cabinet.
  • A motion of no-confidence is passed to remove a government from office.
  • The MPs (Members of Parliament) can ask questions to the ministers on their ommissions and commissions.
  • Any lapses on the part of the government can be exposed in the Parliament.
  • Adjournment Motion:
    • Allowed only in the Lok Sabha, the chief objective of the adjournment motion is to draw the attention of the Parliament to any recent issue of urgent public interest.
    • It is considered an extraordinary tool in Parliament as normal business is affected.

The correct answer is Fourth.

Key Points

• Rajya Sabha seats are allocated by the Fourth Schedule in the Indian Constitution.
• The Number of Members of the Rajya Sabha to be elected from Each state/Union Territory has been fixed by the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.
• In India, the seats of states/Union territory are dependent on the Larger Size of the population gets more Representatives seats than the states with Smaller Populations.

Additional Information

• This table shows the number of seats allocated to the states or union territory of India.

• Rule 193 (of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha) does not involve a formal motion before the Parliament House, hence no voting can take place after the discussion on matters under this rule.
• Rule 184 allows voting but rule 193 doesn't.
• Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Parliament, while Rajya Sabha is the upper house.

The correct answer is a simple majority of its members.

• Parliament can Amend the provision on the official language of India under the Constitution by a simple majority of its members.

Key Points

• Eighth Schedule and related Constitutional Provisions​
• Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to​​ 351.
• The Constitutional provisions related to the Eighth Schedule are:
  • Article 344: Article 344(1) provides for the constitution of a Commission by the President on the expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution.
  • Article 351: It provides for the spread of the Hindi language to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India.
• Hence option 1 is correct.

Additional Information 22 Official Languages

• The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages:
• Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada,  Kashmiri,  Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri,  Marathi,  Nepali,  Oriya,  Punjabi,  Sanskrit,  Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, and  Dogri.
• Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
  • The Sindhi language was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
  • Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992.
  • Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.

The correct answer is Article 85.

Key Points

• Article 79 to Article 122 in Part V of the constitution deals with the procedures, and powers, of the Parliament.
• Article 85 deals with sessions of Parliament, its prorogation, and dissolution.
• Sessions of the Parliament:
  • ​Summoning: President summons both houses and usually there are three sessions in a year though not compulsory
    • Budget session: February to May
    • Monsoon session: July to September
    • Winter session: November to December
    • The maximum gap between two sessions should not be more than 6 months.
  • Adjournment: Suspends the work for a specific time in a sitting which may be for hours, days or weeks.
  • Adjournment Sine Die: Terminates the sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.
  • Prorogation: President may not only terminates a session but also a session of the House. It does not affect the bills or any other business pending before the house.
  • Dissolution: Irrevocable process and only Lok Sabha is subjected to it. President decides to dissolve the house.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Leaders of Opposition in Parliament.

Key Points

• The salary and allowances of leaders of opposition in parliament are governed by the Act passed for the first time by the parliament in the year 1977.
• Leader of the Opposition:
  • In each House of Parliament, there is the 'Leader of the Opposition'.
  • The leader of the largest Opposition party having not less than one-tenth of the seats of the total strength of the House is recognized as the leader of the Opposition in that House opposition cabinet. 
  • In a parliamentary system of government, the leader of the opposition has a significant role to play.
  • His main functions are to provide constructive criticism of the policies of the government and to provide an alternative government.
  • Therefore, the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were accorded statutory recognition in 1977.
  • They are also entitled to the salary, allowances, and other facilities equivalent to that of a cabinet minister. 
  • It was in 1969 that an official leader of the opposition was recognized for the first time.

Additional Information

• The same functionary in the USA is known as the 'minority leader'.
• The British political system has a unique institution called the 'Shadow Cabinet'.
• It is formed by the Opposition party to balance the ruling cabinet and to prepare its members for future ministerial offices.
• In this shadow cabinet, almost every member in the ruling cabinet is 'shadowed' by a corresponding member in the opposition cabinet.
• This shadow cabinet serves as the 'alternate cabinet' if there is a change of government.
• That is why Ivor Jennings described the leader of the Opposition as the 'alternative Prime Minister'.
• He enjoys the status of a minister and is paid by the government.

The correct answer is 75.

Key Points

• The finance bill has to be passed by the Parliament within 75 days of its introduction.
• The Finance Bill can be introduced only in Lok Sabha.
  • However, the Rajya Sabha can recommend amendments to the Bill.
• It must be passed in Lok Sabha by a simple majority of all members present and voting.
• A Finance Bill is a Money Bill as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution.
• A Money Bill passed by the Lok Sabha is deemed to have been passed by the Rajya Sabha also when no action is taken by the Upper House within 14 days.

The correct answer is 1968.

• The Lokpal bill was first introduced in the parliament in 1968. 
• Its version was enacted in 2013, it was from a draft prepared in 2010.
• It is for the implementation of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. 
• Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose is the first Chairperson of the Lokpal.
• Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
• He was also a sitting member of the National Human Rights Commission.

The correct answer is South Africa.

Key Points

• The provision of the election of members of Rajya Sabha in the Constitution of India was adopted from the Constitution of South Africa.
• Indian Constitution came into existence on 26th November 1949.
• The Constituent Assembly of India drafted the constitution considering features of constitutions of the other countries as well as from the Government of India Act 1935.
• There are various sources of the Indian constitution for some features of it are borrowed.​
• Constitution is drafted considering the historical perspective of Indian Nationalist struggles, the geographical diversity of India, and its traditions and characteristics which are totally different from any other nation.

Additional InformationBorrowed provisions of the constitution from different countries are given below:

The correct answer is  250.

Key Points

• The maximum permissible strength of the Rajya Sabha is 250.
• As per Article 80 of the Indian Constitution, the maximum permissible strength of the Upper House of the Parliament, i.e., Rajya Sabha is 250.
• Out of the total 250, 238 are representatives from the States and Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President.
• Currently, the maximum strength for Rajya Sabha is 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories and the remaining 12 are nominated by the President.
• The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, i.e., whosoever holds the office of Vice-President will automatically become the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Currently, Jagdeep Dhankhar is the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

The correct answer is Lok Sabha

Key Points

• Article 75(3) of the Indian Constitution makes the council of ministers collectively responsible to the house of people or the​ Lok Sabha.
• 'Collective responsibility' means that the council of ministers is responsible for every action of the Government (Executive) as a single unit before the Lok Sabha as they act as a bridge between the Executive and the Legislature.
• In case a no-confidence motion is passed against the PM, the entire Government has to resign. 

Additional Information

• The First Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952 after India's first general election.
• First Session of this Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952.
• The 1st Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure ;of five years and was dissolved on 4 April 1957.
• First Lok Sabha period - 13 May 1952- 4 April 1957
• First  Speaker - Shri G.V. Mavalankar
• First  Deputy Speaker - Shri M.A.Ayyangar
• First  Secretary-General - Shri M. N.Kaul

The correct answer is It should state the reasons for its adoption in the Lok Sabha.

Key Points

• With reference to the no-confidence motion, the statement that It should state the reasons for its adoption in the Lok Sabha is INCORRECT.
• No confidence motion is a motion that is introduced against the ruling government in the elected house i.e Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha and not in the upper house i.e Rajya Sabha or Vidhan Parishad.
• It is a special power vested in the hand opposition.
• The vote of a no-confidence motion is brought in Lok Sabha.
• In Parliament when a no-confidence motion is passed, the Government discontinues to adore the trust and confidence of the house and is thereafter removed.
• In this procedure, no-confidence voting is done against the Government by the Lok Sabha members.
• When a no-confidence motion is passed the President dissolves the Council of Ministers.
• The no-confidence motion is not mentioned in the Indian Constitution.
• Process for No Confidence Motion:
  • A Requirement for the introduction of no Confidence motion is given to the speaker of the house which is to be supported by a minimum of 50 members.
  • The speaker will give time within the next 10 days for discussion on the motion in the house.
  • After the discussion, the voting takes place.
  • If the No-Confidence Motion is passed in the house the Council of ministers must resign as they have lost the majority in the house.
  • If the NO Confidence motion is passed, then the President is not bound by the aid and advice of the defeated council of ministers.