Cardinal Principles of Parliamentary
Democracy:-
1. Head of state is not the real executive. For
all practical purpose Prime Minister is the
real executive who is the head of the
government.
2. He along with his Council of Ministers is
accountable to the Lower House of the
Parliament.
3. Council of Ministers is drawn from
legislature itself. It is not an outside body.
Formation of Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is formed as soon as
Prime Minister is sworn in. PM alone can
constitute Council of Ministers.
Categories of Ministers
Constitution does not categorize members
of the Council of Ministers. It is done by the Prime
Minister following the British conventions. In fact,
there are three categories of ministers in India
But it is the prerogative of PM to decide how
many categories to be included. These three
categories of ministers are as follows:-
Cabinet Ministers - They are senior rank
ministers if allotted a portfolio. They always head
a ministry. They constitute the cabinet and enjoy
the right to attend cabinet meeting. They are
assisted by Minister of State or Deputy in
discharging official functions.
Minister of States - They are second rank
ministers. They are normally not given
independent charge. They assist Cabinet
Ministers. PM in his discretion can give
independent change to Minister of States. He does
not enjoy right to attend cabinet meeting. But he
can be invited to attend cabinet meetings.
Deputy Ministers - They are junior in rank.
They are never given independent charges. They
cannot be invited to participate in the cabinet
meeting.
Parliamentary Secretaries - They are not
member of CoM. They are appointed by PM.
Basically; they are Member of Parliament and
from the ruling party. They are appointed to
assist the ministry in discharging functions in the
Parliament. They take oath of office and secrecy
conducted by PM.
Strength of Council of Ministers
91st Amendment Act 2003 amended Art. 75
and inserted Art 75 (1A) which provides that
“strength of Union CoM shall not exceed 15% of
the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
