History & Civics
Answer
The differences between collective responsibility and individual responsibility of the Council of Ministers are as follows:
| Collective Responsibility | Individual Responsibility |
|---|---|
| According to Article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. | The Ministers are individually responsible to the President. |
| The decisions taken in the meetings of the Cabinet are equally applicable to all the Ministers even though they may differ among themselves on a particular policy. | Each Minister is answerable to Parliament for the department under his control. It is obligatory for him to answer all the questions asked by the MPs, regarding matters such as personal lapse, departure from official policy by him or by his department, breach of oath of secrecy and so on. |
| A Vote of No-Confidence against one Minister is a vote against the whole Ministry. Such a Ministry that has lost the confidence of the Lok Sabha has to resign. | A minister may be dismissed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister even when they may have the confidence of the Legislature. |
Related Questions
The Prime Minister is
- the head of the state
- head of the government
- head of the state as well government
- none of the above
Suppose you are appointed as the PM of India for a day. What two changes would you like to bring in immediately and why?
Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow:
As railway and transport minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri sent his resignation twice to Nehru after train accidents. Only once he was persuaded to take it back…..When it appeared that Nehru seemed inclined to accept the (second) resignation, thirty MPs appealed to Nehru not to let Shastri go. They were of the view that while Shastri should be lauded for having offered to resign, his resignation should not be accepted, as he was not personally responsible for the accident.
(Source:https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/lal-bahadur-shastri-sent-nehru-his-resignation-set-gold-standard-for-politicians/304341/)
(a) Does Shastri's resignation reflect Individual Responsibility or Collective Responsibility? Justify.
(b) Highlight two important differences between both types.
The Ministers are individually responsible to
- the Prime Minister
- the President
- the people
- the Parliament