The State Government of India
Democracy is not just about people electing their rulers, It is about decision making. we are going to study how decisions are taken at state level, who takes them, who implements them and if there is any dispute, who solves them. India is a federal government i.e. there are two sets of governments i.e. Union Government and the State Government. The Constitution of India has specified the working of both the sets of governments. As we know, India is a Union of states. Each state has its own system of governance on the lines of the Union Parliament.
STATE LEGISLATURE
Like the Lok Sabha at the Centre, the States have their own Legislative Assemblies, which are the Lower Houses. Again like the Rajya Sabha some States have their own Legislative Councils, which are the Upper Houses of the State Legislature. It may be noted that all the states do not have their Upper Houses i.e. Legislative Assemblies councils. The State Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad is the upper house in those 6 states of India- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh that have a bicameral state legislature; the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly. Its establishment is defined in Article 168 of the Constitution of India. As of January 2020, 6 out of 28 states have a State Legislative Council. The latest state to have a council is Telangana. All other states have legislative Assemblies which are also called Vidhan sabhas.
Legislative assembly
How do people who are MLAs become ministers or chief minister ?
A political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number of constituencies in a state can be said to be in a majority. The political party that has the majority is called the ruling party and all other members are called the opposition.
Provision of reservation of seats: The Constitution provides for reservation of seats in the Legislative Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Nomination of the members of Anglo- Indian Community: The Governor can nominate one member of the Anglo-Indian community in the Legislative Assembly if he is of the opinion that the Anglo-Indian community is not adequately represented in the legislative assembly.
Qualifications for the Legislative Assembly Candidates :
(i) He must be a citizen of India.
(ii) He must be above the age of 25.
(iii) He should not hold any office of profit under the Union or the State government.
(iv) He should not be an insane or an insolvent person.
(v) He should not have been convicted for some grave offence.
(vi) He must fulfil all other qualifications as laid down by an act of the Parliament.
Tenure: The tenure of the Legislative Assembly is 5 years but the Governor can a dissolve it at any time. Its tenure can be extended by one year during the imposition of national emergency.
Session: The Governor can convene the session at any time but a period of more than 6 months must not lapse between the two sessions.
Officials of the Legislative Assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker :
The members of the Legislative Assembly elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from amongst themselves to preside over its meetings. The Speaker presides over the meetings, maintains discipline during the meetings, recognises the members and allows them to speak, put the measures for voting and declares the results.
Powers and functions of the legislative assembly
1.The Legislative Assembly can make laws on the subjects grouped in the State List and the Concurrent List. But the law passed by the Legislative Assembly comes into conflict with the laws passed by the Parliament related to a Concurrent Subject, the Union law will prevail.
In the states having a bi-cameral legislature the Legislative Council can delay a bill for 4 months but cannot veto it.
2. Financial Powers:
The Legislative Assembly controls the finances of the state. It approves the annual financial statements i.e. the Budget by means of which it authorises the government to impose, reduce or abolish taxes. The state government cannot spend money without its approval.
The Legislative Council can delay a money all for a period of not more than 14 days.
3. Executive Powers:
The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the legislative assembly. Members of the Legislative Assembly make the Council of Ministers responsible to it by asking them questions by moving Call Attention Motion, Adjournment Motion, Censure Motion, etc. The Legislative Assembly can remove the Council of Ministers from office by passing the vote of No Confidence against it.
4. Constitutional Powers:
For amending some provisions of the Constitution approval of at least 1/2 states is necessary. Thus the Legislative Assembly along with the Legislative Council takes part in the amendment process of the Constitution.
5. Electoral Powers:
(i) Members of the Legislative Assembly take part in the election of the President.
(ii) It elects 1/3 members of the Legislative Council.
(iii) It elects the members of the Rajya Sabha.
(iv) The members elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL (VIDHAN PARISHAD)
The State Legislative Council's members are not elected directly by the people but they are elected indirectly by the MLA's, Local bodies, teachers, graduates.
STATE EXECUTIVE
The State Executive in India like the Union Executive consists of two parts -
1. Nominal Executive
2. Real Executive
The Governor is the nominal executive head whereas the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister is the real executive.
GOVERNOR
The Governor is the executive head of the state.The Constitution vests the executive powers of the State in the Governor because of the adoption of the parliamentary government in the states the Governor is the constitutional head of a State Government and all his powers are in actual practice exercised by the Council of Ministers of the State.
Appointment of Governor :
The Governor is appointed by the President, but in actual practice the President makes this appointment on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
Qualifications of Governor :
(i) He must be a citizen of India.
(ii) He must not be below 35 years of age.
(iii) He must not be a member either of the Union or of the State Legislature. If he is a member of any of the legislatures, he has to resign from his seat in the legislature before assuming the office of Governor.
(iv) He must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or any State Government.
Term of Office
The Governor's term of office is five years. As he holds his office "during the pleasure of the President", his term can be terminated even earlier by the President. However, the President acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. His appointment and removal are political decisions based mostly on political considerations.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE GOVERNOR
The Governor's position in relation to the State Council of Ministers is technically the same as that of the President at the Centre in relation to the Council of Ministers there. He exercises his powers and functions on the advice of the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers. But the Governor possesses some discretionary powers as an agent of the Centre which he can exercise through his individual judgement in the best interest of the State concerned. we may say that the Governor acts in two capacities i.e.,
(a) as the Constitutional Head of the State.
(b) as an agent of the central government in the state.
Executive powers and functions of the governor
1. To appoint the chief minister :
2. To appoint the council of ministers:
3. To appoint the high officials :
Legislative powers and functions of the governor
1. To nominate MLA/MLC:
2. To address the legislature:
3. To give assent to the bills:
- Give his assent to the bill and it becomes an act.
- May withhold his assent.
- May reserve the bill for the consideration of the president.
- May return the bill to the legislature for its reconsideration provided that it is not a money bill. If it is passed by the legislature for the second time with or without amendment then the governor cannot withhold his assent to it.
4. To release Ordinances:
5. To Dissolve the State Assembly :
Financial Powers of the governor:
The judicial powers of the Governor
Discretionary powers
- When no party commands and absolute majority in the state assembly he may use his discretion in selecting the chief minister. Before doing so he has to ensure a stable government in the state.
- To dismiss a council of ministers which has lost the confidence of the state assembly but if the chief minister insists upon remaining in office and asks for the dissolution of the assembly, after having lost its confidence the governor may use his own discretionary powers either to dismiss the council of ministers or to dissolve the assembly. He may recommend fresh election in the state.
- To report to the president that the government of the state cannot be run according to the provisions of the constitution. This means the imposition of the constitutional emergency and president's rule in the state.
- The governor may refuse to give his assent to a bill. He may send it back to the state legislature for reconsideration. He may even reserve of bill for president's assent.
Council of ministers
The appointment of the chief ministers and other ministers
The state council of ministers has four categories of ministers:-
1) Cabinet ministers :
2) Ministers of state:
3) Deputy ministers:
4) Parliament secretaries:
Term of office
Relationship of the council of ministers with the chief minister
1. Formation of the Council of Ministers:
2. Distribution of Portfolios :
3. Reorganisation of Council of Ministers:
4. Link between Governor and Council of Ministers:
5. Leader of the people:
6. Control over Appointments :
7. Control over Finance :
Position :
Major functions of the district administration
- District administration maintains law and order in the district and gives punishment to those who disobey the orders of the government.
- It collects the various taxes levied by the government and deposits the same in the treasury.
- It keeps the record of the land of the district and deals with the land related disputes.
- It provides justice to the people in civil and criminal cases and for this, there is provision of civil and criminal courts.
- It implements all the developmental plans in the district and evaluates their progress from time to time.
- It evaluates the performance of panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies. It also helps these bodies in the proper discharge of their duties.
The deputy commissioner is the chief executive officer of the district and is known by the name of collector, district judge and district officer etc. The entire administration of the district to revolves around him. It is his responsibility to successfully complete the welfare and developmental functions in the district. The policies and programmes of the government up to the people is also his responsibility. There are so many other officials who assist him and they work under his supervision and control.
As citizens it is our duty to co-operate with the state officials. They are the actual agents through whom laws are executed and ultimately benefit of the same riches the people through them.
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