UPSC Essentials | Key terms of past week with MCQs

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What is the history?

— In the United Kingdom, the tradition of the monarch addressing the Parliament began in the 16th century. In the United States, President Gorge Washington addressed Congress for the first time in 1790.

— In India, the practice of the President addressing Parliament was established after the promulgation of the Government of India Act in 1919. This law gave the Governor-General the right of addressing the Legislative Assembly and the Council of State. The law did not have a provision for a joint address but the Governor-General did address the Assembly and the Council together on multiple occasions. Between 1947 and 1950, there was no address to the Constituent Assembly (Legislative).

— After the Constitution came into force, President Rajendra Prasad addressed members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the first time on January 31, 1950. The Constitution gives the President and the Governor the power to address a sitting of the legislature. Article 87 provides two special occasions on which the President addresses a joint sitting. The first is to address the opening session of a new legislature after a general election. The second is to address the first sitting of Parliament each year. A session of a new or continuing legislature cannot begin without fulfilling this requirement.

— When the Constitution came into force, the President was required to address each session of Parliament. So during the provisional Parliament in 1950, President Prasad gave an address before every session. In 1951, the First Amendment to the Constitution changed this and made the President’s address an annual affair.

What is the government’s role?

— There is no set format for the President’s or Governor’s speech. The Constitution states that the President shall “inform Parliament of the cause of the summons”. During the making of the Constitution, Prof K T Shah wanted the President’s address to be more specific. He suggested that the language be changed to specify that the President shall inform Parliament “on the general state of the Union including financial proposals, and other particular issues of policy he deems suitable for such address”.

— His proposal took inspiration from the US Constitution, according to which the President “shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient”. But the Constituent Assembly didn’t accept Prof Shah’s amendment.

— The address of the President follows a general structure in which it highlights the government’s accomplishments from the previous year and sets the broad governance agenda for the coming year.

— The President’s speech is essentially the viewpoint of the government and is also written by it. Usually, in December, the Prime Minister’s Office asks the various ministries to start sending in their inputs for the speech. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs sends a message, asking ministries to give information about any legislative proposals that need to be included in the President’s address. All this information is collated and shaped into a speech, which is then delivered to the President. The President’s address serves as a platform for the government to make policy and legislative announcements.

What if the President disagrees with the text of the speech?

— The President or Governor cannot refuse to perform the constitutional duty of delivering an address to the legislature. But there can be situations when they deviate from the text of the speech prepared by the government. So far, there have been no instances of a President doing so. But there have been occasions when a Governor skipped or changed a portion of the address to the Assembly.

— Most recently, Tamil Nadu’s Governor R N Ravi made changes to the prepared speech he read out in the Assembly. According to The Indian Express, Chief Minister MK Stalin had to step in and move a resolution, which demanded that only the original speech given to the Governor be put in records.

— In 2020, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, during his address to the Assembly, stopped before reading out his speech’s paragraph 18, which related to the Kerala government’s opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

— Before this, in 1969, West Bengal’s Governor Dharma Vira skipped two paragraphs of the speech written by the United Front government, which was at the time led by Chief Minister Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee with Jyoti Basu as the Deputy CM. The skipped portions were related to the dismissal of the first United Front government by the Congress-ruled central government.

What is the procedure and tradition?

— After the President’s address, the two Houses move a motion to thank the President for her speech. This is an occasion for MPs in the two Houses to have a broad debate on governance in the country. The issues raised by MPs are then addressed by the Prime Minister, who also replies to the motion of thanks. The motion is then put to vote and MPs can express their disagreement by moving amendments to the motion.

— Opposition MPs have been successful in getting amendments passed to the motion of thanks in Rajya Sabha on five occasions, including in 1980, 1989, 2001, 2015 and 2016. However, they have been less successful in the Lok Sabha. For instance, MPs of the lower house, in 2018, tabled 845 amendments of which 375 were moved and negatived.

(Source: President Murmu delivers her first address to Parliament: History, significance of President’s address)

Point to ponder: It is a fallacy that the President of India is a ceremonial figurehead and has no meaningful role to play. Discuss.

3. MCQ:

Consider the following statements (2022):

1. A bill amending the Constitution requires a prior recommendation of the President of India.

2. When a Constitution Amendment Bill is presented to the President of India, it is obligatory for the President of India to give his/her assent.

3. A Constitution Amendment Bill must be passed by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha by a special majority and there is no provision for joint sitting.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)

Why in news?

— The Opposition on February 2 joined hands to demand a probe either by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), headed by the Supreme Court or monitored by the Chief Justice of India, into the allegations of fraud and stock manipulation against the Adani Group.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What is a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)?

— A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is set up by the Parliament for a special purpose, like for the detailed scrutiny of a subject or Bill. It has members from both the Houses and from both the ruling parties and the opposition. It is dissolved after its term ends or its task has been completed.

How is a JPC set up?

— A JPC is set up after one House of Parliament has passed a motion and the other has agreed to it. Members of the JPC are decided by the Parliament. The number of members can vary – there is no fixed number.

What can a JPC do?

— According to an article on PRS Legislative Research, the mandate of a JPC depends on the motion constituting it. For example, “The terms of reference for the JPC on the stock market scam asked the committee to look into financial irregularities, to fix responsibility on persons and institutions for the scam, to identify regulatory loopholes and also to make suitable recommendations,” the PRS article said.

— To fulfil its mandate, a JPC can scrutinise documents and summon people for questioning. It then submits a report and makes recommendations to the government.

How powerful is a JPC?

— While the recommendations of a JPC have persuasive value, they are not binding on the government. The government can choose to launch further investigations based on what the JPC has said, but it can’t be forced to do so.

“The government is required to report on the follow-up action taken on the basis of the recommendations of the JPC and other committees. The committees then submit ‘Action Taken Reports’ in Parliament on the basis of the government’s reply,” the PRS article says.

What JPCs have been set up so far?

— According to the Lok Sabha website, there have been six JPCs set up so far. These are “JPC to examine matters relating to Allocation and Pricing of Telecom Licensces and Spectrum; JPC on Pesticide Residues in and Safety Standard for Soft Drinks, Fruit Juice and other Beverages; JPC on Stock Market Scam and Matters Relating thereto; JPC to enquire into irregularities in Securities and Banking Transactions; JPC to enquire into Bofors Contract; Joint Committee to Examine the Constitutional and Legal Position Relating to Office of Profit.”

FYI: 

— The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday (February 2) placed Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, and Ambuja Cements under the additional surveillance mechanism (ASM), Reuters reported. This means trading in their shares will require a 100% margin, which is aimed at curbing speculation and shortselling.