DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL BANGALORE - EAST

SOCIAL SCIENCE
WHY DO WE NEED A PARLIAMENT?
CLASS: VIII ANSWER KEY
1. Parliament is the most important symbol of Indian democracy.

2. EVMs were used throughout the country for the first time in the ________ general elections.

(a) 2004 (b) 2006 (c) 2003 (d) 2007

3. Correct the following statements and rewrite:

Ans.(a) Rajya Sabha is also called the council of the states.

(b)Lok Sabha is presided over by the speaker.

4. In the question below there are two statements as Assertion (A) and Reason (R) Read the
statement and choose the correct answer.
Assertion: The take off point for a democracy is the idea of consent which means the desire,
approval and participation of people.
Reason: In a democracy the individual or citizen is the most important person.
(a) Both (A) and (R) true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false but (R) is true.

Answer the following:

5. How many elected and nominated members are there in Rajya Sabha?

Ans. There are 233 elected and 12 nominated members in Rajya Sabha.

6. How is the Rajya Sabha constituted?

Ans. (a) The Rajya Sabha is also known as the council of states / upper house is constituted for six
years. However 1/3rd of its members retire every two years.

(b)The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the legislative
assemblies.

(c)There is no direct election by the people.

7. Examine the role of opposition.

Ans.(a)The opposition parties play a critical role in healthy functioning of democracy.

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(b)They highlight drawbacks in various policies and programs of the government.

(c)The opposition parties provide a communicative link between the people and the government.

8. What is “Question Hour”?

Ans.(a) The first hour of any sitting in both houses of the parliament is allowed for asking questions and
answering the questions.

(b)During this hour matters that come under jurisdiction of the Union government are raised and
problems are brought to the notice.

(c)Administrative policies are criticized and weakness of government is exposed.

9. Explain the important duties of the Parliament.

Ans. 1 (a)To select the National Government:

(b)It selects the executive.

(c)The group of executives work together to implement the laws made by parliament.

(d)The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the ruling party and constitutes the council of
ministers.

( 2) To control, guide and inform the government.

(a)The parliament controls the government through question hour.

(b)MP’s can elicit information about the working of the government

(c)The opposition parties plays a critical role in the healthy functioning of the democracy.

( 3) Law Making: The parliament plays an important role in making laws and has to be sensitive to
the problems faced by the people of the country.

10.How is the Lok Sabha constituted?

Ans.(a)Lok Sabha is known as the house of the people / Lower House.

(b)There are 543 elected members and 2 members are nominated by the President.

(c)It is presided over by Speaker.

(d)The members of the Lok Sabha are elected by the citizens and are known as MPs.

(e)Members are elected for the tenure of 5 years. Lok Sabha can be dissolved.

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