Question 23 from UPSC CSE 2017 - Polity and
Governance

Question

The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through
1. Adjournment motion
2. Questions hour
3. Supplementary questions
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: D. 1, 2, and 3

Strategy: Identify all three items—Adjournment motion, Question hour, and Supplementary questions—as valid parliamentary tools for holding the executive accountable. Conclude that the correct option must include all of them.

Key Info: **Parliamentary Control over Executive:**
The Constitution of India establishes a parliamentary form of government where the executive is responsible to the legislature. Article 75(3) states that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This accountability is ensured through various parliamentary devices and procedures.

Key mechanisms include:
- **Legislative Control:** Scrutinizing and passing laws, approving ordinances.
- **Financial Control:** Approval of the Budget (no tax can be levied or expenditure incurred without Parliament's approval), and scrutiny by parliamentary committees like the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Estimates Committee, and Committee on Public Undertakings.
- **Deliberative Control:** Debates and discussions on various issues of national importance.
- **Procedural Control:** Mechanisms like motions, resolutions, and parliamentary questions.

**Adjournment Motion:**
An extraordinary procedure to draw the attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance. It interrupts the normal business of the House for discussion. Admission of this motion is seen as a censure against the government. It requires the support of 50 members to be admitted in the Lok Sabha.

**Purpose:** To hold the government accountable for a recent act of omission or commission which has serious consequences.

**Question Hour:**
This is typically the first hour of a parliamentary sitting. During this time, Members of Parliament (MPs) ask questions to ministers to hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries. It is a powerful tool for obtaining information and enforcing executive accountability.

Types of questions include:
- **Starred Question:** Requires an oral answer, and hence, supplementary questions can follow.
- **Unstarred Question:** Requires a written answer, and supplementary questions cannot follow.
- **Short Notice Question:** Asked on a matter of urgent public importance and can be answered orally with less than 10 days' notice.

**Supplementary Questions:**
These are follow-up questions that MPs can ask after a minister has given a reply to a Starred Question during the Question Hour. They allow for deeper probing into the matter, preventing ministers from giving evasive or unsatisfactory answers. The Speaker of the House regulates the asking of supplementary questions. They are a critical element that makes the Question Hour an effective instrument of control.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: 1 only

IASCODEX · Answer

Option B: 2 and 3 only

IASCODEX · Answer

Option C: 1 and 3 only

The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through Adjournment motion Questions hour Supplementary questions Select the correct answer using the code given below:

The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through

Adjournment motion

Questions hour

Supplementary questions

Select the correct answer using the code given below: