Which of the following Constitutional Amendment in India has decided the maximum strength of the Council of Minister with Chief Minister in a State ?
91st Constitutional Amendment
The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 fixed the ceiling — option 1.
What it provided for the states. It inserted clause (1A) into Article 164 :
| Provision | Effect |
|---|---|
| Article 164(1A) | The Council of Ministers including the Chief Minister shall not exceed 15 per cent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that state, subject to a minimum of 12 ministers |
| Article 164(1B) | A member disqualified for defection is also disqualified from being a minister for the rest of the term |
| Article 75(1A) | The same 15 per cent ceiling for the Union, against the strength of the Lok Sabha |
| Tenth Schedule | The one-third split exception was deleted; only a merger of two-thirds now protects defectors |
Why a minimum of twelve. Fifteen per cent of a small Assembly would leave a state unable to fill the essential portfolios — in a House of forty, the cap would allow only six ministers. The floor of twelve protects the small states of the north-east and the smaller Union Territories with legislatures, though Delhi is separately limited to 10 per cent of its Assembly.
Why the amendment was needed. Through the 1990s, councils of ministers had grown very large — several states had forty or more ministers — because ministerial office was the standard inducement offered to legislators whose support a coalition needed. Capping the size removed the supply of offices, and disqualifying defectors from holding office removed the reward; the two measures together, taken with the deletion of the split exception, were meant to make defection unprofitable.
The other options. The 86th Amendment (2002) made education a fundamental right by inserting Article 21A for children aged six to fourteen. The 81st Amendment (2000) added Article 16(4B), permitting the carry-forward of unfilled reserved vacancies as a separate class exempt from the 50 per cent ceiling.
Hence, the answer is the 91st Constitutional Amendment.
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