India have Parliamentary form of Government and it is provided under Article 74,75,163 and 164
Provisions related to Parliamentary Structure
Article 74-Council of Ministers to aid and advise President
- There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.
- Provided that the President may require the council of Ministers to reconsider such advice, either generally or otherwise, and the President shall act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration.
- The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the President shall not be inquired into in any court.
Article 75 -Other provisions as to Ministers-
It includes provisions like-
- 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 Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.
- The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.
- A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of either House of Parliament shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister.
- The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the COM shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha(added by the 91st Amendment Act of 2003).
- There is similar provision in State as that is mentioned in article 74 and 75.
Article 163 -Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor
- There shall be a council of Ministers with the chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
- If any question arises whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which the Governor is by or under this Constitution required to act in his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion.
- The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any court.
Article 164-
It has also bit similar provision as that of Article 75 like-
- The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, who also names other ministries at the Chief Minister's recommendation.
- For the length of the governor's time in office, ministers are selected by the governor.
- The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State etc.
Features of Parliamentary Government in India-
1.Two Executives I.e. Nominal and Real Executives -
- The President is the nominal executive (de jure executive or titular executive) while the Prime Minister is the real executive (de facto executive)
2.Majority Party Rule-
- The political party which secures majority seats in the Lok Sabha forms the government.
- The leader of that party is appointed as the Prime Minister by the President.
- However, when no single party gets the majority, a coalition of parties may be invited by the President to form the government.
3.Collective Responsibility-
- Article 75 provides that the ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament in general and to the Lok Sabha in particular.
- The principle of collective responsibility implies that the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry i.e.,council of ministers headed by the prime minister from office by passing a vote of no confidence.
4.Political Homogeneity-
- It means that in general members of the council of ministers belong to the same political party, and hence they share the same political ideology.
5.Double Membership-
- A minister without being a member of the Parliament.
- Therefore the ministers are members of both the legislature and the executive.
- The Constitution stipulates that a minister who is not a member of the Parliament for a period of six consecutive months ceases to be a minister.
6.Leadership of the Prime Minister
- The Prime Minister plays the leadership role in this system of government. He is the leader of council of ministers, leader of the Parliament and leader of the party in power.
7.Secret Procedure
- The ministers take the oath of secrecy before entering their office. The oath of secrecy to the ministers is administered by the President.
8.Dissolution of the Lower House (Lok Sabha)-
- It can be dissolved by the President on recommendation of the Prime Minister. In other words, the prime minister can.
9.Individual Responsibility of ministers-
- Article 75 contains the principle of individual responsibility.
- It states that the ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President, and can be removed by him at any time (but only on advice of Prime minister )
Benefit of Parliamentary System-
Responsible Government-
- As there is provision of collective and individual responsibility therefore this system ensures formation of Responsible government.
Coordination and harmony between the Legislature and the Executive -
- It ensures harmony between the Legislature and the Executive. The Cabinet is a committee of the Legislature. The ministers are drawn from the majority party in the Legislature. They work in close cooperation.
Wider representation-
- In a parliamentary system, it is possible to provide representation to all sections and regions in the government.
Prevents Despotism
- Under this system, the executive authority is vested in a group of individuals (council of ministers) and not in a single person which prevents despotism.
Other Merits includes-
- Clearer division of responsibility.
- Diversity of leaders which leads to diversity in decision making.
- Lower risk of Democratic Erosion.
- Ready alternate government etc.
Demerits of the parliamentary form of government-
Unstable Government-
- The parliamentary system does not provide a stable government. There is no guarantee that a government can survive its tenure.
- No-confidence motion and Adornment motions can create instability in the government.
No separation of powers-
- There is no separation of powers because all major powers get concentrated in the hand of Prime minister rather than parliament and president.
Possibility of Dictatorship of Cabinet-
- If the Cabinet is sure of majority support in the parliament than it can lead to their dictatorship in decision making and other activities of the parliament.
Negative impact of Party politics-
- There is possibility that party politics hinders the developmental work in parliamentary system.