India's Parliamentary System: Assertion & Reason Explained

Analyzing Assertion (A): India's Parliamentary System

Assertion (A) states that India has a Parliamentary system of Government. This statement is true. India's political system is modeled after the British Westminster system, characterized by specific features that define it as parliamentary.

• Dual Executive: India has a nominal executive head (the President) and a real executive head (the Prime Minister).
• Prime Minister and Cabinet: The Prime Minister is the head of government, leading the Council of Ministers.
• Parliamentary Membership: The Prime Minister and the ministers are required to be members of either the Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha).
• Collective Responsibility: The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha.

Analyzing Reason (R): Executive Responsibility to Legislature

Reason (R) states that in India, the executive is responsible to the legislature. This statement is also true and is a fundamental principle of India's parliamentary democracy.

The executive branch, comprising the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, derives its legitimacy and authority from the legislature (Parliament). Key aspects of this responsibility include:

• Ministers are drawn from the legislature.
• The government must maintain the confidence of the Lok Sabha to stay in power.
• The legislature can hold the executive accountable through various tools like questions, debates, adjournment motions, and importantly, the 'no-confidence' motion.

Linking Executive Responsibility to Parliamentary System

The core principle that the executive is responsible to the legislature is precisely what defines a parliamentary system. In such a system, the executive (the government) is not independent of the legislature but is accountable to it and functions only as long as it commands the legislature's support. The fact that the Indian executive is responsible to the Indian legislature is a direct and defining characteristic of India's parliamentary form of government.

Therefore, Reason (R) serves as the correct explanation for Assertion (A). The executive's responsibility to the legislature is a key reason *why* India is considered to have a parliamentary system.

Final Answer Determination

Based on the analysis:

• Assertion (A) is true.
• Reason (R) is true.
• Reason (R) correctly explains Assertion (A).

This aligns with the option stating: Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).