Parliament and the Making of Laws, Class- 8, solved Questions and answers.

A. Very short answer type questions:

Q1. What is the advantage of the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)?
Ans. Cutting of trees has been stopped.

Q2. Name the two Houses of the Parliament.
Ans. The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

Q3. What is the term or tenure of the Lok Sabha?
Ans. The tenure of the Lok Sabha is 5 years.

Q4. What makes the Indian Parliament powerful?
Ans. It is the representative of the people.

Q5. What do you mean by the executive?
Ans. The executive is a group of persons who work together to implement the laws made by the Parliament.

Q6. Who is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha?
Ans. The Prime Minister.

Q7. Name the ministries which are housed in the North Block.
Ans. The Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Q8. Who nominates the 12 members of the Rajya Sabha?
Ans. The President of India.

Q9. How is the question hour an important mechanism?
Ans. It is through this mechanism that MPs can elicit information about the working of the government.

Q10. What has been done to give adequate representation to the communities that have been historically marginalised?
Ans. Some seats are reserved in the Parliament for people belonging to SC and ST category.




Q11. Give one reason why you think there should be universal adult franchise.

Ans: There should be universal adult franchise in order to establish equality in the country.


B. Short answer type questions:

Q1. Do you think there would be any difference if the class monitor was selected by the teacher or elected by the students? Discuss.

Ans:

Selection of class monitor by the teacher is not a democratic process because the monitor is not the representative of the students.

If the class monitor is elected by the students, he will represent the entire class.

This is democratic in nature and represents fairness.



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Q2. Use the terms ‘constituency’ and ‘represent’ to explain who an MLA is and how the person gets elected.

Ans:

Example: Mr. Manohar Lal Khattar represents Karnal (Haryana) constituency as an MLA of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

Procedure of election of an MLA:

1. Parties give tickets to their workers (one party = one candidate per constituency).


2. Candidates file nomination forms with the Returning Officer.


3. They campaign by announcing their policies and programmes.


4. Voting is conducted on a fixed day.


5. Candidate with the highest number of votes becomes the MLA from that constituency.





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Q3. Discuss with your teacher the difference between a State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) and the Parliament (Lok Sabha).

Vidhan Sabha Lok Sabha

1. State Legislative Assembly is the lower house of a particular state’s Vidhan Sabha consisting of MLAs. 1. Parliament is the highest law-making body of the whole country consisting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Their members are called MPs.
2. State legislature can make laws on the subjects given in State List and only for its own state. 2. Parliament can make laws on subjects given in Central List, Concurrent List and Residuary List for the whole country.



—Q4. Why do you think nationalist movement supported the idea that all adults have a right to vote?

Answer:
The nationalist movement became successful because people from various backgrounds joined it. With independence, it was felt that all persons in independent India should participate in making decisions. The government must be sensitive to people’s needs and demands. Therefore, the Constitution of independent India laid down the principle of universal adult franchise, i.e., all adult citizens of India have the right to vote. By exercising this right, people can participate in the functioning of the government through their representatives. This is the essence of a democratic government.

Q5. How is the national government formed?
Ans. After the Lok Sabha elections are declared, a list is prepared showing how many MPs belong to each political party. For a political party to form the government, they must have a majority of elected MPs. The total membership of the Lok Sabha is 545, in which 543 are elected members while 2 are nominated. Thus, a party should have at least half the number i.e., 272 members or more to have a majority in order to form the national government.


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Q6. What is the role of Prime Minister in India?
Ans. The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha. From the MPs who belong to his/her party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to work with him to implement decisions. These ministers then take charge of different areas of government functioning such as health, education, foreign, tourism, etc.

C. Long answer type question:

Q1. Discuss the role and functions of the Parliament.


Answer:

The Parliament is the most important institution in a democracy. It performs the following role and functions:

1. Two Houses – It consists of two houses: the Lok Sabha (lower house) and the Rajya Sabha (upper house).


2. Controls the Government – The Parliament controls, guides, and informs the government. The Question Hour is an important mechanism through which MPs elicit information about the working of the government. This helps the Parliament control the executive and hold it accountable.


3. Financial Approval – In all financial matters, the government requires the Parliament’s approval. This ensures proper control, guidance, and information flow.


4. Law-making – The Parliament makes new laws for the entire country and amends or repeals old ones when necessary.


5. Passing the Budget – It passes the budget of the Union Government. Parliament can also reduce or even reject the budget.


6. Power of Impeachment – The Parliament can remove the President of India through impeachment. It can also impeach judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts if they are found violating the Constitution or misusing their position.

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