HOW DO STATE GOVERNMENTS WORK?

CLASS 7
C.W

1)If this is passed against the government in assembly, the entire

ministry has to resign

a)Vote of trust

b)Vote of Misbehavior

c)Vote of No confidence

d)None of the above

2)Which of the following does the Council of Minister NOT consists of

a)Secretary

b)Cabinet Minister

c)Ministers of State

d)Deputy Minsiters
3) He or She is the nominal head of the State. In reference to the above
statement elaborate on the
a)Legislative powers
b)Discretionary powers

4) Since the administration of the state is run by the chief minister describe
the powers and functions of the chief minister.
Chief Minister The administration in the state is actually run by the Chief
Minister and the Council of Ministers. After the general elections to the
Assembly, the Governor invites the leader of the party that has won the majority
of scats in the House, to form the government. The leader of the party becomes
the Chief Minister and has a term of five years.
Powers and Functions of the Chief Minister:
 • The Chief Minister prepares a list of his/ her cabinet. The Governor then
appoints the ministers according to the list.
• The Chief Minister can remove any minister at any time.
• The Chief Minister also decides the agenda for the mneetings of the
Council of Ministers and presides over its meetings.
• He/She also coordinates the work of different departments of the state
government.
• It is the responsibility of the Chief Minister to maintain good relations
with the central government.
As the head of the Legislature and the Council of Ministers, the Chief
Minister holds the responsibility for the government of the state. If a vote
of no-confidence is passed against the government in the Assembly, the
entire ministry has to resign.

5) ‘India is unique in this respect as it supports a quasi federal system of

governance.' Justify

Indian federalism was designed on the basis of working of the federalism in

USA, Canada and Australia. Yet it deviates from those federalism in many
respects and establishes its own distinctive features.
Indian constitution is a blend of federal feature with unitary bias. Some of the
federal feature are.

• Dual polity: two government one at the Centre and in states with
defined functions and responsibilities.
• Bicameral Legislature: Like other Federations, the Constitution of India
also provides for a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Lok Sabha and
the Rajya Sabha.
• Independent judiciary: so that there is no unilateral change in division of
power by the Centre.

Yet, Indian federalism deviates from the federal characteristics as below and
shows unitary features

• Constitutional amendment procedure- the power to initiate an

amendment to the Constitution lies only with the Centre.
• States not indestructible- e.g. Recent Jammu and Kashmir
Reorganisation Act without popular government support.
 • All India Services- Centre has the ultimate control over the civil
servants.
• Governor’s office- Governors appointment and his/her actions in crucial
times has been criticised for being biased towards the power at Centre. Eg.
Governor of Karnataka and Manipur inviting the second largest party to
form the government instead of single largest party. This shows the Centre
influence in state government formation.
• No Equality of State Representation- Representation in the legislature in
the federal states in United States is on an equal basis, which is also not
applicable in case of Indian States. Thus, making the federation in India
unequal.

The Indian Constitution is neither purely federal nor purely unitary, but it’s a
combination of both. Indian Constitution is mainly federal with unique safeguards
for enforcing national unity and growth. Also, federalism is not dead in India, as
evidenced by the fact that new regions are demanding statehood and union has
yielded, thus states like Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Telangana have been created.

6) The Council of ministers consists of other ministers in this context state

the three categories at the state level.

The Council of Ministers is collectively and individually responsible to the

Legislative Assembly for their actions. There are three categories of Council of
Ministers at the state level:

• Cabinet Ministers

• Ministers of State

• Deputy Ministers

A Cabinet Minister holds the overall charge of one or more portfolios, and may
be assisted by the Minister of State or the Deputy Minister. The cabinet makes all
the important decisions and policies. It plays an important role in the Legislature
at the time of law-making, helps in the preparation of the budget and follows
directions given to it by the central government.

H.W
1)State the difference between a money bill and ordinary bill.
2)Define the term State list.