News & Events
Question – How is Indian Parliamentary system similar and dissimilar to the British Parliamentary System?
- February 6, 2023
- Posted by: Pallavi Singh
- Category: Blog
![house commons](https://aakarias.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/house-commons.jpg)
Answer –
The Constitution of India provides for a parliamentary form of government, both at the Centre and in the states. Articles 74 and 75 deal with the parliamentary system at the Centre and Articles 163 and 164 in the states.
The Parliamentary system of government is the one in which the executive is responsible to the legislature for its policies and acts. It is often described as ‘Westminster model of government’ after the location of the British Parliament, where the parliamentary system originated.
Our Parliamentary system has been adopted from British Parliamentary system by our constitution makers. Hence, both the system have many similarities, which are as follows –
1) Presence of nominal and real executives (The President is the nominal head in India, likewise king/Queen is the nominal head. The real powers are excercised by Council Of Ministers headed by Prime Minister in both countries).
2) Majority party rule
3) Collective responsiblity of the executive to the legislature
4) Membership of the ministers in the legislature
5) Leadership of the Prime Minister
6) Dissolution of the lower house (Lok Sabha in India and House of Commons in Britain)
India’s parliamentary government is substantially modelled after the British parliamentary system. It never did, however, replicate the British system and is different in the following ways:
1) Instead of the British monarchy, India has a republican system. In other words, the Head of the State in Britain (the King or Queen) holds a hereditary status, whereas the Head of the State in India (the President) is elected.
2)The British system is predicated on the idea that Parliament has absolute power, whereas in India, due presence of a written Constitution, a federal government, judicial review, and fundamental rights, Parliament has only limited and constrained authority.
3) The British Prime Minister must be a member of the Parliament’s Lower House (House of Commons). The Prime Minister of India may belong to either of the two Houses of Parliament.
4) In Britain, ministerial positions are typically filled solely by members of Parliament. In India, a non-Parliamentary individual may also be appointed as a minister for a maximum of six months.
5) While India lacks a system of ministerial legal responsibility, Britain does. India’s ministers are not needed to countersign the official acts of the Head of State, unlike in the United Kingdom.
6) Shadow cabinet is a unique institution of the British cabinet system. It is formed by the opposition party to balance the ruling cabinet and to prepare its members for ministerial office. There is no such institution in India.
Conclusion
Although India also adopted the Parliamentary System of Government but the Parliament of India is not at par with the Parliament of the UK due to the sovereignty enjoyed by it.