President and Vice President-competoid.com
The President and Vice President
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The President is the executive head of the state.
The Constitution vests all the executive powers of the Union Government in him.
He exercises these powers either directly himself or through officers subordinate to him.
Qualifications: A candidate for the office of the President
(a) must be a citizen of India
(b) should have completed 35 years of age
(c) must possess qualifications required for membership of the Lok Sabha
(d) must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India, state government or local authority.
Offices of Not Profit
However, the following offices are not considered as offices of profit
(a) President and Vice-President
(b) The governor of a state;
(c) Minister of union or state.
The name of a candidate for the post of President must be proposed by 50 electors and seconded by at least 50 electors.
He has also to deposit a security of Rs 15,000 for contesting elections.
Election: The President is indirectly elected through an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both the houses of the Parliament and elected members of all the state legislative assemblies.
The Constitution provides that as far as practicable there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation among the states as a whole and the Union.
This is sought to be achieved by providing that every elected member of the legislative assembly of a state shall have as many votes as there are multiples of 1000 in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the state by the total number of elected members of the assembly. This can be explained in the form of the following formula.
$ \frac{Population \ of \ State}{Elected \ members \ of \ State \ Legislative \ Assemblies} \div 1000 $
If by this division the remainder is 500 or more, it will be counted as one and the vote of each member is increased by one.
Likewise, the number of votes which each elected member of Parliament shall be entitled to cast shall be determined by dividing the total number of votes of the legislative assemblies of all the states by the total number of elected members of both the houses of Parliament.
This can be explained in the form of following formula
Total number of votes assigned to all the elected MLAs Total number of elected MPs
$ \frac{Total \ number \ of \ votes \ assigned \ to \ all \ the \ elected \ MLAs}{Total \ number \ of \ elected \ MPs} $
If in this division the remainder exceeds one-half, it will be counted as one.
The election is held through the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote .
The candidate receiving absolute majority of the first preference votes is declared elected.
However, if no candidate receives an absolute majority in first preference votes, the ballots of the candidate securing the least number of first preference votes are cancelled and his second preference votes transferred .
This process is followed till some candidate secures an absolute majority of votes.
On 25 July 2007, Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the 13th President and earned the distinction of being the first woman President of India.
Disputes Regarding Presidential Election
Disputes Regarding Presidential Election: All disputes in connection with the election of the President are inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court, and its decision is final.
The election of the President or the Vice-President cannot be challenged on the ground of existence of any vacancy on whatever reason in the electoral college electing him.
Oath: The President has to take an oath or an affirmation in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, or in his absence, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court available.
In this oath or affirmation the President undertakes to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and to devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of India.
Term and Emoluments
Term: The President holds office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters office.
He is eligible for re-election.
But generally the President does not hold office for more than two terms. So far only one President, Dr. Rajinder Prasad, has held office as President for two terms.
The President can resign before the expiry of his term of five years by addressing his resignation to the Vice-President.
The President receives a salary of Rs 1,50,000 per month.
In addition to this he is entitled to other allowances and privileges including free official residence with free electricity and water, telephone, car facilities and secretarial assistance. On retirement, the President is entitled to a pension of rupees nine lakh per annum.
Impeachment: The President can be removed from office before expiry of his term through impeachment.
Impeachment proceedings can be initiated by either house of Parliament on the grounds of violation of the Constitution.
After impeachment charges have been framed by one house, the charges are investigated by the other house.
If the other house, after due investigation, passes a resolution by a two-third majority that the charges have been sustained, the President stands impeached.
Vacancy: In case the office falls vacant due to the death, resignation or removal of the incumbent, the Vice President acts as President.
In case the Vice-President is also not available to discharge the duties of the office of the President, the Chief Justice of India acts as President.
Thus Chief Justice M. Hidayatullah acted as President of India from 20 July 1969 to. 24 August 1969 because V.V. Giri, the then acting President, tendered his resignation to contest presidential election.
In the absence of the Chief Justice, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court acts as President. A person who acts as President is entitled to all the powers and privileges of the President. Fresh elections for the office of the President must be held within six months of the occurrence of vacancy
Powers of the President
Executive Powers:
The President is the executive head of the state (Article 53) and all executive actions of the Union Government are taken in his name (Article 77).
All important officials of the Union Government are appointed by the President.
Powers of President
Some important officials appointed by the President include
The Prime Minister,
The members of the council of ministers,
The Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts,
Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC),
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Attorney General of India,
Governors of states,
Members of the finance commission,
Ambassadors and so forth.
Legislative Powers
Legislative Powers: As an integral part of the Parliament under Article 79, the President enjoys important legislative powers.
He can summon and prorogue the sessions of the two houses and can dissolve the Lok Sabha (Article 85).
He can address both the houses separately or jointly (Article 86).
He addresses the first session of the Parliament after the general election (Article 87).
He nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha from persons who have distinguished themselves in fine arts, literature, social service and so on. He nominates two members from the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha if this community has not received adequate representation.
All the bills passed by Parliament must receive his assent before they become law.
The President can ask the Parliament to reconsider a bill (Article 111).
If on reconsideration, the Parliament repasses the bill, the President has to give his signature (Article 111).
Thus, he enjoys only suspensive veto power and it can be applied only to the non-money bills.
However, with regard to constitutional amendments the President has no veto power and it is obligatory for him to give assent to such bills.
The President can enact laws through ordinances when the Parliament is in recess.
In this regard Article 123 of the Constitution provides that if at any time, except when both the Houses of Parliament are in session, the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action, he may promulgate such Ordinances as the circumstances appear to him to require.
It may be observed that the President can promulgate ordinances only on matters listed in the union list and the concurrent list.
He can also issue ordinances on residuary subjects as well as the state list if the state is under President's rule.
These ordinances possess the force of a law but must be approved by the Parliament within six weeks of its reassembly.
The Ordinances differ from the Acts of Parliament in three respects viz., they cannot be used for the amendment of the Constitution; they have a temporary character; and they must be replaced by a law of the Parliament.
Financial Powers
Financial Powers: All money bills can originate in the Lok Sabha only on the recommendations of the President. The Contingency Fund of India has been placed at the disposal of the President.
He can advance money out of this fund to meet unforeseen expenses and recover after due authorisation by the Parliament
The president appoints a finance commission (Article 280), every five years to recommend distribution of taxes between the union and state governments.
Judicial Powers
Judicial Powers: The President appoints the Justice and judges of the Supreme Court and State High Courts (Articles 124, 217).
He can grant pardon, reprieve, respite or remission of punishment, or commute the Sentence, of any person punished under the union law (Article 72).
The president enjoys legal immunity and is not accountable to any court of law for anything done in the exercise of his official duties.
Emergency Powers: The Constitution vest; extraordinary powers in the President to deal with three types of emergencies:
(a) emergency due to war or external aggression or armed rebellion ( Article 352).
(b) emergency arising out of failure of constitutional machinery in the state ( Article 356); and
(c) emergency arising from threat to the financial stability or credit of the country ( Article 360).
During emergencies, the President comes to wield such extensive powers that critics of the Constitution describe them as a threat to the democratic system of government.
Military Powers
Military Powers: As the Supreme Commander of the defence forces of India, the President appoints the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
He also enjoys the power to declare war and conclude peace.
Diplomatic Powers
Diplomatic Powers: The President represents the country in international forums.
He sends ambassadors to foreign countries and receives their diplomats.
All international treaties and agreements are concluded on behalf of the President.
However, these treaties and agreements are subject to rectification by the Parliament.
Position of the President
In a number of cases the President can use of his discretionary powers.
This includes
(i) appointment of a Prime Minister if no single political party enjoys clear-cut majority or does not possess a recognised leader of the party;
(ii) dissolution of the Lok Sabha and holding of fresh elections in the event of recommendation of the Council of Ministers after it has been voted out and tendered its resignation;
(iii) in the exercise of pocket veto in respect of law passed by the Parliament;
(iv) disqualifications of members of the Lok Sabha
(v) asking the Council of Ministers to reconsider its decision;
(vi) asking the Parliament to reconsider a bill passed by it.
Presidential Veto
Presidential Veto: It is a device available with the President to check hasty and ill-considered legislation by the Parliament.
Veto has been classified in three categories on the basis of its impact, viz,
Absolute Veto
Suspensive Veto
if the President refuses to sign the bill passed by the Parliament and stops the passage of law it is known as absolute veto.
Actually the President of India can use absolute veto in two cases
(i) on private members bill; and
(ii) if the Council of 7 Ministers tenders resignation after the bill has been passed by the Parliament and before the President gives his assent.
In this case the new Cabinet usually advises the President to reject the bill.
Suspensive veto implies that after the bill is passed by the Parliament it is sent to the President for his assent.
The President can refer back the bill to Parliament for reconsideration.
If the Parliament re-passes the bill, the President has to give his assent. As this type of veto has the impact of suspending the enactment of the law. It is known , as suspensive veto.
In Pocket Veto the President instead of giving assent to the bill or sending it back to the Parliament for reconsideration, takes no action on the bill. After the lapse of the stipulated period the bill automatically lapses. in short the President can kill a bill by simply pocketing it.
The Constitution provides for a Vice-President who is elected by members of the two houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.
A candidate for the office of the Vice-President must be proposed and seconded by at least 25 members.
He is also required to deposit a security of Rs 15,000. Election disputes regarding the Vice-President are decided by the Supreme Court.
Qualifications: A candidate for the office of Vice-President must
1. be a citizen of India
2. be more than 35 years of age
3. possess the qualifications prescribed for membership of the Rajya Sabha
4. not be a member of either house of the Parliament or state legislature
5. not be a person of unsound mind or insolvent
6. not hold any office of profit under the union or state government or local authority.
Term and Emoluments: The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters office.
His term can be cut short if he submits his resignation to the President or is removed by the Rajya Sabha through a resolution passed by a two-third majority of its members and likewise agreed to by the Lok Sabha.
The Vice-President draws a monthly salary of Rs 1,25,000.
In addition he enjoys several benefits, like free residence, free travel, medical facilities etc. On retirement he is entitled to monthly pension.
Oath of Office: Before entering upon his office the Vice President has to take an oath before the President or some other person appointed by him.
Powers:
The Vice-President is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 64) and presides over its meetings.
All bills, resolutions, motions or questions can be taken up by the Rajya Sabha only with his consent.
He is the chief spokesman of the Rajya Sabha before the President as well as the Lok Sabha.
Powers of Vice President
He discharges the functions of the office of the President in case that post falls vacant on account of the death, resignation or removal of the President (Article 65).
The Vice-President can act as President for a maximum period of six months because fresh elections for the office of President must be held within six months of the occurrence of vacancy.
Similarly, if the President is unable to discharge his functions for some reason, the Vice-President discharges all his functions.
President and Vice President
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