Indian Prime Minister / Why is the post of PM in India more powerful than that of the President? Know what powers are given

Indian Prime Minister: On 9 June, Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive time. With the oath, the Modi government has come into action mode. In India, the Prime Minister is selected by the MPs of the ruling party. The leader of the party or coalition which has a majority in the Lok Sabha is the Prime Minister of the country. The Prime Minister is the leader of the Council of Ministers. In this largest democracy of the world, the President is only a nominal ruler. All major executive powers are with the Prime Minister, that is, the President is the head of the nation, while the Prime Minister is the head of the government.

Gives advice to the President

The Prime Minister, after taking oath, sends the names of the members of his party to the President for appointing ministers. The President appoints ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister allocates and reshuffles the departments of the ministers. The PM can advise the President to resign or dismiss a minister.

The most powerful person in the country will be the Prime Minister - Constituent Assembly

In the last days of December 1948, a debate was going on in the meeting of the Constituent Assembly regarding the post of President and Prime Minister. There was a debate among the members of the House as to who should be more powerful between the President and the Prime Minister and how much power should be given to whom. On 27 December 1948, the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar said, 'We have repeatedly said that our President will be a mere symbol. He will not have any discretionary powers. He will not have any administrative powers. The Prime Minister will have full control of the administration of the country. The most powerful person in the country will be the Prime Minister.'

Constituent Assembly member Tajammul Hussain says that this is the system of England. In England, the Prime Minister is the head of the government, the system there has been working properly for many years. After a long debate, the members of the Assembly insisted that in the parliamentary democracy system, the Prime Minister should be made the head of the cabinet. The powers of the President should be limited. They suspected that if the President is made more powerful, he can become an autocratic emperor.

Let us now know how powerful is the post of Prime Minister in India-

The President does every work on the advice of the Prime Minister- The President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoints the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Attorney General of India, Advocate General of India, Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission, Election Commissioners, Chairman and members of the Finance Commission.

The advice of the Prime Minister cannot be investigated in the court- The parliamentary system of government in the Indian Constitution is based on the British model. That is, in this the President is the nominal head and in reality all the powers are with the Prime Minister. The President is the head of the state while the Prime Minister is the head of the government. In the parliamentary system of governance, the government is a part of the Parliament. The government remains only as long as it has a majority in the Lok Sabha. Being the head of the government, the Prime Minister has all the powers. According to Article 74 of the Indian Constitution, there will be a Council of Ministers to assist and advise the President, which will be led by the Prime Minister. The President of the country will work only after consulting the Council of Ministers. The advice given by the Prime Minister to the President cannot be investigated in any court. Power to overturn Supreme Court's decision- Supreme Court's decision can be overturned by making a law. For this, the cabinet led by the Prime Minister will make and pass a proposal. It will be placed in the Lok Sabha. Since the government has a majority here, this bill will be passed. After being passed in the Rajya Sabha also, it becomes a law and the Supreme Court's decision can be ineffective.

Prime Minister's rights in relation to Parliament- The Prime Minister is the leader of the lower house and he also has some special rights in relation to the Parliament. The Prime Minister advises the President to convene a session of Parliament and to adjourn it. The PM can advise the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha at any time. He announces the policies of the government on the floor of the House.

Important role in implementing foreign policy- The Prime Minister plays an important role in implementing the foreign policy of the nation. The PM is the chief spokesperson of the central government. Along with being the leader of the ruling party, he is the chairman of the Planning Commission, National Development Council, National Integration Council, Inter-State Council and National Water Resources Council. During emergency, he is the head of disaster management at the political level. Also, he is the political head of the three armies.

Head of many departments and right of transfer-posting- The Prime Minister plays an important role in the political and administrative system of the country. He is the head or in-charge of many ministries, departments and programs. He also has administrative and appointment powers. Also, the PM advises the President for posting of big posts from the head of the armies to the Election Commission.

Right to spend the Consolidated Fund of India- The country earns income from many different sources including tax, revenue, loan. All this income is deposited in a common fund. This is called the 'Consolidated Fund' of the country. It is mentioned in Article 266 (1) of the Constitution. The Parliament is the owner of the Consolidated Fund of the country. The approval of the Lok Sabha is necessary to withdraw even a single penny from it. The Prime Minister is the head of the Lok Sabha. He has a majority in the Lok Sabha. That is why it is said that the Consolidated Fund of India is in the hands of the Prime Minister.

Relation between the Prime Minister and the President

The Prime Minister gives information to the President about the activities going on in the government and in the country and abroad. The PM submits the report of all the works of the Council of Ministers to the President. He gives complete information to the President about any emergency or any other such matter in the country. According to Article 74 of the Constitution, there will be a Council of Ministers to assist and advise the President, whose head will be the Prime Minister. The President will work according to the advice of the Prime Minister, however, the President can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice and the President will be bound to act on the advice given after this reconsideration.

Can the Prime Minister be removed from his post?

There is a provision for removing the Prime Minister as well in the Constitution. According to Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha Rules, any MP can present a no-confidence motion against the government in the Lok Sabha. Being the head of the government, the Prime Minister responds to the no-confidence motion. After this, voting takes place. If more votes are cast in favor of the motion, then the government falls and the Prime Minister has to resign.

The Prime Minister is also the head of the government in Britain

At present, in countries where the Prime Minister is elected in the parliamentary system, the powers of the PM there are almost similar to those of the PM of India. Apart from India, it includes many countries like Bangladesh, France, Pakistan, Italy. In Britain too, the Prime Minister is the head of the government. He is chosen by the King. The PM of Britain can appoint or dismiss ministers at any time.