jbp123/hello · Datasets at Hugging Face

instruction stringlengths 1 84	input stringlengths 1 85	output stringlengths 1 83
the Vice-President, his normal functions are to preside over the	council of states. It is only on a rare occasion, and that too for a	temporary period, that he may be called upon to assume the
duties of the president. That being so, it does not seem necessary	that the members of the state legislatures should also be invited to	take part in the election of the Vice-President”.
But, the manner of election is same in both the cases. Thus,	the Vice-President’s election, like that of the President’s election,	is held in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote and the	voting is by secret ballot.3	All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the Vice-
President are inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court	whose decision is final. The election of a person as Vice-President	cannot be challenged on the ground that the electoral college was
incomplete (i.e., existence of any vacancy among the members of	electoral college). If the election of a person as VicePresident is	declared void by the Supreme Court, acts done by him before the
QUALIFICATIONS, OATH AND CONDITIONS	Qualifications	To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person should fulfil
the following qualifications:	1. He should be a citizen of India.	2. He should have completed 35 years of age.
3. He should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya	Sabha.	4. He should not hold any office of profit under the Union
government or any state government or any local authority	or any other public authority.	Table 18.1 Elections of the Vice-Presidents (1952–2017)
Sl. Election Victorious No. of Runner-up No. of	No. Year Candidate Votes Candidate Votes	secured secured
1. 1952 Dr. S. – Unopposed –	Radhakrishnan	2. 1957 Dr. S. – Unopposed –
Radhakrishnan	3. 1962 Dr. Zakir 568 N. Samant 14	Hussain Singh
4. 1967 V.V. Giri 486 Prof. Habib 192	5. 1969 G.S. Pathak 400 H.V. 156	Kamath
6. 1974 B.D. Jatti 521 N.E. Horo 141	7. 1979 M. – unopposed –	Hidayatullah
8. 1984 R. 508 B.C. 207	Venkataraman Kambley	9. 1987 Dr. Shankar – unopposed –
Dayal Sharma	10. 1992 K.R. 700 Kaka 01	Narayanan Joginder
Singh	11. 1997 Krishna Kant 441 Surjeet 273	Singh
Barnala	12. 2002 B.S. 454 Shushil 305	Shekhawat Kumar
Shinde	13. 2007 Mohd. Hamid 455 Najma 222	Ansari Heptullah
14. 2012 Mohd. Hamid 490 Jaswant 238	Ansari Singh	15. 2017 Venkaiah 516 Gopal 244
Naidu Krishna	Gandhi	But, a sitting President or Vice-President of the Union, the
governor of any state and a minister for the Union or any state is	not deemed to hold any office of profit and hence qualified for	being a candidate for Vice-President.
Further, the nomination of a candidate for election to the office	of Vice-President must be subscribed by at least 20 electors as	proposers and 20 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to
make a security deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India.4	Oath or Affirmation	Before entering upon his office, the VicePresident has to make
and subscribe to an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the	VicePresident swears:	1. to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India;
and	2. to faithfully discharge the duties of his office.	The oath of office to the Vice-President is administered by the
Conditions of Office	The Constitution lays down the following two conditions of the	Vice-President’s office:
1. He should not be a member of either House of Parliament or	a House of the state legislature. If any such person is	elected Vice-President, he is deemed to have vacated his
seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his	office as Vice-President.	2. He should not hold any other office of profit.
TERM AND VACANCY	Term of Office	The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from the
date on which he enters upon his office. However, he can resign	from his office at any time by addressing the resignation letter to	the President. He can also be removed from the office before
completion of his term. A formal impeachment is not required for	his removal. He can be removed by a resolution passed by a	majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha and agreed
to by the Lok Sabha. This means that this resolution should be	passed in the Rajya Sabha by an effective majority and in the Lok	Sabha by a simple majority. It must be noted here that the
effective majority in India is only a type of special majority and not	a separate one. Further, this resolution can be introduced only in	the Rajya Sabha and not in the Lok Sabha. But, no such
resolution can be moved unless at least 14 days’ advance notice	has been given. Notably, no ground has been mentioned in the	Constitution for his removal.
The Vice-President can hold office beyond his term of five	years until his successor assumes charge. He is also eligible for	reelection to that office. He may be elected for any number of
terms.5	Vacancy in Office	A vacancy in the Vice-President’s office can occur in any of the
following ways:	1. On the expiry of his tenure of five years.	2. By his resignation.
3. On his removal.	4. By his death.6	5. Otherwise, for example, when he becomes disqualified to
hold office or when his election is declared void.	When the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of	the term of the sitting vicepresident, an election to fill the vacancy
must be held before the expiration of the term.	If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death or	otherwise, then election to fill the vacancy should be held as soon
as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy. The newly-	elected vice-president remains in office for a full term of five years	from the date he assumes charge of his office.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS	The functions of Vice-President are two-fold:	1. He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this
capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of the	Speaker of Lok Sabha. In this respect, he resembles the	American vicepresident who also acts as the Chairman of
the Senate–the Upper House of the American legislature.	2. He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of	the President due to his resignation, impeachment, death or
otherwise.7 He can act as President only for a maximum	period of six months within which a new President has to be	elected. Further, when the sitting President is unable to
discharge his functions due to absence, illness or any other	cause, the Vice-President discharges his functions until the	President resumes his office.8
While acting as President or discharging the functions of	President, the Vice-President does not perform the duties of the	office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. During this period, those
duties are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.	The Constitution has not fixed any emoluments for the Vice-	President in that capacity. He draws his regular salary in his
capacity as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In 2018,	the Parliament increased the salary of the Chairman of the Rajya	Sabha from ₹1.25 lakh to ₹4 lakh per month9. Earlier in 2008, the
pension of the retired Vice-President was increased from ₹20,000	per month to 50% of his salary per month10. In addition, he is	entitled to daily allowance, free furnished residence, medical,
travel and other facilities.	During any period when the Vice-President acts as President or	discharges the functions of the President, he is not entitled to the
INDIAN AND AMERICAN VICEPRESIDENTS	COMPARED	Though the office of the Indian VicePresident is modelled on the
lines of the American Vice-President, there is a difference. The	American Vice-President succeeds to the presidency when it falls	vacant, and remains President for the unexpired term of his
predecessor. The Indian Vice-President, on the other hand, does	not assume the office of the President when it falls vacant for the	unexpired term. He merely serves as an acting President until the
new President assumes charge.	From the above it is clear that the Constitution has not	assigned any significant function to the Vice-President in that
capacity. Hence, some scholars call him ‘His Superfluous	Highness’. This office was created with a view to maintain the	political continuity of the Indian State.
Table 18.2 Articles Related to Vice-President at a Glance	Article No. Subject-matter	63. The Vice-President of India
64. The Vice-President to be ex-officio Chairman of	the Council of States	65. The Vice-President to act as President or to
discharge his functions during casual vacancies	in the office, or during the absence, of	President
66. Election of Vice-President	67. Term of office of Vice-President	68. Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the
office of Vice-President and the term of office of	person elected to fill casual vacancy	69. Oath or affirmation by the Vice-President
71. Matters relating to, or connected with, the	election of Vice-President	NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. The original Constitution provided that the Vice-	President would be elected by the two Houses of	Parliament assembled at a joint meeting. This
cumbersome procedure was done away by the 11th	Constitutional Amendment Act of 1961.	2. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume VII, p. 1001.
3. This method is discussed in Chapter 17.	4. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952	as amended in 1997.
5. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was elected for a second term.	6. Krishna Kant was the first Vice-President to die in office.	7. When two Presidents, Dr. Zakir Hussain and Fakruddin
Ali Ahmed, died in office, the then respective Vice-	Presidents, V.V. Giri and B.D. Jatti acted as President.	8. The Vice-President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan discharged
the functions of the President in June 1960 when the	then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad was on a 15-day	tour to the USSR and again in July 1961 when he (Dr.
Rajendra Prasad) was very ill.	9. Vide the Finance Act, 2018, with effect from 1st January,	2016. This Act amended the Salaries and Allowances of
19 Prime Minister	I	n the scheme of parliamentary system of government provided
by the constitution, the President is the nominal executive	authority (de jure executive) and Prime Minister is the real	executive authority (de facto executive). In other words, president
APPOINTMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER	The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the	selection and appointment of the Prime Minister. Article 75 says
only that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the president.	However, this does not imply that the president is free to appoint	any one as the Prime Minister. In accordance with the conventions
of the parliamentary system of government, the President has to	appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the	Prime Minister. But, when no party has a clear majority in the Lok
Sabha, then the President may exercise his personal discretion in	the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister. In such a	situation, the President usually appoints the leader of the largest
party or coalition in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister and asks	him to seek a vote of confidence in the House within a month.	This discretion was exercised by the President, for the first time in
1979, when Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (the then President) appointed	Charan Singh (the coalition leader) as the Prime Minister after the	fall of the Janata Party government headed by Morarji Desai.
There is also one more situation when the president may have	to exercise his individual judgement in the selection and	appointment of the Prime Minister, that is, when the Prime
Minister in office dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.	This is what happened when Indira Gandhi was assassinated in	1984. The then President Zail Singh appointed Rajiv Gandhi as
the Prime Minister by ignoring the precedent of appointing a	caretaker Prime Minister.1 Later on, the Congress parliamentary	party unanimously elected him as its leader. However, if, on the
death of an incumbent Prime Minister, the ruling party elects a	new leader, the President has no choice but to appoint him as	Prime Minister.
In 1980, the Delhi High Court held that the Constitution does	not require that a person must prove his majority in the Lok Sabha	before he is appointed as the Prime Minister. The President may
first appoint him the Prime Minister and then ask him to prove his	majority in the Lok Sabha within a reasonable period. For	example, Charan Singh (1979), V.P. Singh (1989), Chandrasekhar
(1990), P.V. Narasimha Rao (1991), A.B. Vajyapee (1996), Deve	Gowda (1996), I.K. Gujral (1997) and again A.B. Vajpayee (1998)	were appointed as Prime Ministers in this way.
In 1997, the Supreme Court held that a person who is not a	member of either House of Parliament can be appointed as Prime	Minister for six months, within which, he should become a
member of either House of Parliament; otherwise, he ceases to be	the Prime Minister.	Constitutionally, the Prime Minister may be a member of any of
the two Houses of parliament. For example, three Prime Ministers,	Indira Gandhi (1966), Deve Gowda (1996) and Manmohan Singh	(2004), were members of the Rajya Sabha. In Britain, on the other
OATH, TERM AND SALARY	Before the Prime Minister enters upon his office, the president	administers to him the oaths of office and secrecy.2 In his oath of
office, the Prime Minister swears:	1. to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India,	2. to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India,
3. to faithfully and conscientiously discharge the duties of his	office, and	4. to do right to all manner of people in accordance with the
Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or	ill will.	In his oath of secrecy, the Prime Minister swears that he will not
directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person(s) any	matter that is brought under his consideration or becomes known	to him as a Union Minister except as may be required for the due
discharge of his duties as such minister.	The term of the Prime Minister is not fixed and he holds office	during the pleasure of the president. However, this does not mean
that the president can dismiss the Prime Minister at any time. So	long as the Prime Minister enjoys the majority support in the Lok	Sabha, he cannot be dismissed by the President. However, if he
loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha, he must resign or the	President can dismiss him.3	The salary and allowances of the Prime Minister are
determined by the Parliament from time to time. He gets the	salary and allowances that are payable to a member of	Parliament. Additionally, he gets a sumptuary allowance, free
accommodation, travelling allowance, medical facilities, etc. In	2001, the Parliament increased his sumptuary allowance from	₹1,500 to ₹3,000 per month.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PRIME	MINISTER	The powers and functions of Prime Minister can be studied under

the Vice-President, his normal functions are to preside over the

council of states. It is only on a rare occasion, and that too for a

temporary period, that he may be called upon to assume the

duties of the president. That being so, it does not seem necessary

that the members of the state legislatures should also be invited to

take part in the election of the Vice-President”.

But, the manner of election is same in both the cases. Thus,

the Vice-President’s election, like that of the President’s election,

is held in accordance with the system of proportional

representation by means of the single transferable vote and the

voting is by secret ballot.3

All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the Vice-

President are inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court

whose decision is final. The election of a person as Vice-President

cannot be challenged on the ground that the electoral college was

incomplete (i.e., existence of any vacancy among the members of

electoral college). If the election of a person as VicePresident is

declared void by the Supreme Court, acts done by him before the

QUALIFICATIONS, OATH AND CONDITIONS

Qualifications

To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person should fulfil

the following qualifications:

1. He should be a citizen of India.

2. He should have completed 35 years of age.

3. He should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya

Sabha.

4. He should not hold any office of profit under the Union

government or any state government or any local authority

or any other public authority.

Table 18.1 Elections of the Vice-Presidents (1952–2017)

Sl. Election Victorious No. of Runner-up No. of

No. Year Candidate Votes Candidate Votes

secured secured

1. 1952 Dr. S. – Unopposed –

Radhakrishnan

2. 1957 Dr. S. – Unopposed –

Radhakrishnan

3. 1962 Dr. Zakir 568 N. Samant 14

Hussain Singh

4. 1967 V.V. Giri 486 Prof. Habib 192

5. 1969 G.S. Pathak 400 H.V. 156

Kamath

6. 1974 B.D. Jatti 521 N.E. Horo 141

7. 1979 M. – unopposed –

Hidayatullah

8. 1984 R. 508 B.C. 207

Venkataraman Kambley

9. 1987 Dr. Shankar – unopposed –

Dayal Sharma

10. 1992 K.R. 700 Kaka 01

Narayanan Joginder

Singh

11. 1997 Krishna Kant 441 Surjeet 273

Singh

Barnala

12. 2002 B.S. 454 Shushil 305

Shekhawat Kumar

Shinde

13. 2007 Mohd. Hamid 455 Najma 222

Ansari Heptullah

14. 2012 Mohd. Hamid 490 Jaswant 238

Ansari Singh

15. 2017 Venkaiah 516 Gopal 244

Naidu Krishna

Gandhi

But, a sitting President or Vice-President of the Union, the

governor of any state and a minister for the Union or any state is

not deemed to hold any office of profit and hence qualified for

being a candidate for Vice-President.

Further, the nomination of a candidate for election to the office

of Vice-President must be subscribed by at least 20 electors as

proposers and 20 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to

make a security deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India.4

Oath or Affirmation

Before entering upon his office, the VicePresident has to make

and subscribe to an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the

VicePresident swears:

1. to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India;

and

2. to faithfully discharge the duties of his office.

The oath of office to the Vice-President is administered by the

Conditions of Office

The Constitution lays down the following two conditions of the

Vice-President’s office:

1. He should not be a member of either House of Parliament or

a House of the state legislature. If any such person is

elected Vice-President, he is deemed to have vacated his

seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his

office as Vice-President.

2. He should not hold any other office of profit.

TERM AND VACANCY

Term of Office

The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from the

date on which he enters upon his office. However, he can resign

from his office at any time by addressing the resignation letter to

the President. He can also be removed from the office before

completion of his term. A formal impeachment is not required for

his removal. He can be removed by a resolution passed by a

majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha and agreed

to by the Lok Sabha. This means that this resolution should be

passed in the Rajya Sabha by an effective majority and in the Lok

Sabha by a simple majority. It must be noted here that the

effective majority in India is only a type of special majority and not

a separate one. Further, this resolution can be introduced only in

the Rajya Sabha and not in the Lok Sabha. But, no such

resolution can be moved unless at least 14 days’ advance notice

has been given. Notably, no ground has been mentioned in the

Constitution for his removal.

The Vice-President can hold office beyond his term of five

years until his successor assumes charge. He is also eligible for

reelection to that office. He may be elected for any number of

terms.5

Vacancy in Office

A vacancy in the Vice-President’s office can occur in any of the

following ways:

1. On the expiry of his tenure of five years.

2. By his resignation.

3. On his removal.

4. By his death.6

5. Otherwise, for example, when he becomes disqualified to

hold office or when his election is declared void.

When the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of

the term of the sitting vicepresident, an election to fill the vacancy

must be held before the expiration of the term.

If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death or

otherwise, then election to fill the vacancy should be held as soon

as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy. The newly-

elected vice-president remains in office for a full term of five years

from the date he assumes charge of his office.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS

The functions of Vice-President are two-fold:

1. He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this

capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of the

Speaker of Lok Sabha. In this respect, he resembles the

American vicepresident who also acts as the Chairman of

the Senate–the Upper House of the American legislature.

2. He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of

the President due to his resignation, impeachment, death or

otherwise.7 He can act as President only for a maximum

period of six months within which a new President has to be

elected. Further, when the sitting President is unable to

discharge his functions due to absence, illness or any other

cause, the Vice-President discharges his functions until the

President resumes his office.8

While acting as President or discharging the functions of

President, the Vice-President does not perform the duties of the

office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. During this period, those

duties are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

The Constitution has not fixed any emoluments for the Vice-

President in that capacity. He draws his regular salary in his

capacity as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In 2018,

the Parliament increased the salary of the Chairman of the Rajya

Sabha from ₹1.25 lakh to ₹4 lakh per month9. Earlier in 2008, the

pension of the retired Vice-President was increased from ₹20,000

per month to 50% of his salary per month10. In addition, he is

entitled to daily allowance, free furnished residence, medical,

travel and other facilities.

During any period when the Vice-President acts as President or

discharges the functions of the President, he is not entitled to the

INDIAN AND AMERICAN VICEPRESIDENTS

COMPARED

Though the office of the Indian VicePresident is modelled on the

lines of the American Vice-President, there is a difference. The

American Vice-President succeeds to the presidency when it falls

vacant, and remains President for the unexpired term of his

predecessor. The Indian Vice-President, on the other hand, does

not assume the office of the President when it falls vacant for the

unexpired term. He merely serves as an acting President until the

new President assumes charge.

From the above it is clear that the Constitution has not

assigned any significant function to the Vice-President in that

capacity. Hence, some scholars call him ‘His Superfluous

Highness’. This office was created with a view to maintain the

political continuity of the Indian State.

Table 18.2 Articles Related to Vice-President at a Glance

Article No. Subject-matter

63. The Vice-President of India

64. The Vice-President to be ex-officio Chairman of

the Council of States

65. The Vice-President to act as President or to

discharge his functions during casual vacancies

in the office, or during the absence, of

President

66. Election of Vice-President

67. Term of office of Vice-President

68. Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the

office of Vice-President and the term of office of

person elected to fill casual vacancy

69. Oath or affirmation by the Vice-President

71. Matters relating to, or connected with, the

election of Vice-President

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. The original Constitution provided that the Vice-

President would be elected by the two Houses of

Parliament assembled at a joint meeting. This

cumbersome procedure was done away by the 11th

Constitutional Amendment Act of 1961.

2. Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume VII, p. 1001.

3. This method is discussed in Chapter 17.

4. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952

as amended in 1997.

5. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was elected for a second term.

6. Krishna Kant was the first Vice-President to die in office.

7. When two Presidents, Dr. Zakir Hussain and Fakruddin

Ali Ahmed, died in office, the then respective Vice-

Presidents, V.V. Giri and B.D. Jatti acted as President.

8. The Vice-President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan discharged

the functions of the President in June 1960 when the

then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad was on a 15-day

tour to the USSR and again in July 1961 when he (Dr.

Rajendra Prasad) was very ill.

9. Vide the Finance Act, 2018, with effect from 1st January,

2016. This Act amended the Salaries and Allowances of

19 Prime Minister

I

n the scheme of parliamentary system of government provided

by the constitution, the President is the nominal executive

authority (de jure executive) and Prime Minister is the real

executive authority (de facto executive). In other words, president

APPOINTMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER

The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the

selection and appointment of the Prime Minister. Article 75 says

only that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the president.

However, this does not imply that the president is free to appoint

any one as the Prime Minister. In accordance with the conventions

of the parliamentary system of government, the President has to

appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the

Prime Minister. But, when no party has a clear majority in the Lok

Sabha, then the President may exercise his personal discretion in

the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister. In such a

situation, the President usually appoints the leader of the largest

party or coalition in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister and asks

him to seek a vote of confidence in the House within a month.

This discretion was exercised by the President, for the first time in

1979, when Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (the then President) appointed

Charan Singh (the coalition leader) as the Prime Minister after the

fall of the Janata Party government headed by Morarji Desai.

There is also one more situation when the president may have

to exercise his individual judgement in the selection and

appointment of the Prime Minister, that is, when the Prime

Minister in office dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.

This is what happened when Indira Gandhi was assassinated in

1984. The then President Zail Singh appointed Rajiv Gandhi as

the Prime Minister by ignoring the precedent of appointing a

caretaker Prime Minister.1 Later on, the Congress parliamentary

party unanimously elected him as its leader. However, if, on the

death of an incumbent Prime Minister, the ruling party elects a

new leader, the President has no choice but to appoint him as

Prime Minister.

In 1980, the Delhi High Court held that the Constitution does

not require that a person must prove his majority in the Lok Sabha

before he is appointed as the Prime Minister. The President may

first appoint him the Prime Minister and then ask him to prove his

majority in the Lok Sabha within a reasonable period. For

example, Charan Singh (1979), V.P. Singh (1989), Chandrasekhar

(1990), P.V. Narasimha Rao (1991), A.B. Vajyapee (1996), Deve

Gowda (1996), I.K. Gujral (1997) and again A.B. Vajpayee (1998)

were appointed as Prime Ministers in this way.

In 1997, the Supreme Court held that a person who is not a

member of either House of Parliament can be appointed as Prime

Minister for six months, within which, he should become a

member of either House of Parliament; otherwise, he ceases to be

the Prime Minister.

Constitutionally, the Prime Minister may be a member of any of

the two Houses of parliament. For example, three Prime Ministers,

Indira Gandhi (1966), Deve Gowda (1996) and Manmohan Singh

(2004), were members of the Rajya Sabha. In Britain, on the other

OATH, TERM AND SALARY

Before the Prime Minister enters upon his office, the president

administers to him the oaths of office and secrecy.2 In his oath of

office, the Prime Minister swears:

1. to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India,

2. to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India,

3. to faithfully and conscientiously discharge the duties of his

office, and

4. to do right to all manner of people in accordance with the

Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or

ill will.

In his oath of secrecy, the Prime Minister swears that he will not

directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person(s) any

matter that is brought under his consideration or becomes known

to him as a Union Minister except as may be required for the due

discharge of his duties as such minister.

The term of the Prime Minister is not fixed and he holds office

during the pleasure of the president. However, this does not mean

that the president can dismiss the Prime Minister at any time. So

long as the Prime Minister enjoys the majority support in the Lok

Sabha, he cannot be dismissed by the President. However, if he

loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha, he must resign or the

President can dismiss him.3

The salary and allowances of the Prime Minister are

determined by the Parliament from time to time. He gets the

salary and allowances that are payable to a member of

Parliament. Additionally, he gets a sumptuary allowance, free

accommodation, travelling allowance, medical facilities, etc. In

2001, the Parliament increased his sumptuary allowance from

₹1,500 to ₹3,000 per month.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PRIME

MINISTER

The powers and functions of Prime Minister can be studied under