Size of Council of Ministers has been restricted to 15 percent of membership of Lok Sabha by which Constitutional Amendment ?
91st Amendment
The 91st Amendment Act of 2003 capped the Council of Ministers at 15 per cent — option 3.
What it provided. The amendment inserted clause (1A) into Article 75 for the Union and into Article 164 for the states :
| Provision | Effect |
|---|---|
| Article 75(1A) | The Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, shall not exceed 15 per cent of the total number of members of the Lok Sabha |
| Article 164(1A) | The same limit for a state, against the strength of the Legislative Assembly, with a minimum of 12 ministers for any state |
| Articles 75(1B) and 164(1B) | A member disqualified for defection is also disqualified from being a minister for the rest of the term |
| Tenth Schedule | The provision permitting a split of one-third of a legislature party was deleted; only a merger of two-thirds now protects defectors |
Why it was needed. The anti-defection law of 1985 had been blunted in practice by two devices: the one-third split exception, which encouraged engineered splits, and the offer of ministerial office to induce defection. Jumbo councils of ministers of forty or more had become common in several states, and the recommendation to cap their size came from the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution and from the Election Commission and the Law Commission. The 91st Amendment closed both routes at once.
The neighbouring amendments are worth keeping apart :
| Amendment | Subject |
|---|---|
| 92nd (2003) | Added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali to the Eighth Schedule |
| 93rd (2005) | Reservation for socially and educationally backward classes in private educational institutions |
| 95th (2009) | Extended reservation of seats for SCs and STs by ten years, to 2020 |
Hence, the answer is the 91st Amendment.
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