CHAPTER - XV

GENERAL

 

Leader of the Lok Sabha

 

15.1     Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee continued as the Leader of the Lok Sabha until the dissolution of the XIII the Lok Sabha on 6.02.2004.

 

Leader of the Rajya Sabha

 

15.2     Shri Jaswant Singh, Minister of Finance continues as the Leader of the Rajya Sabha with effect from 15.10.1999.

 

Leader of  Opposition in the Lok Sabha

 

15.3     Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Congress (I) Party continued as the Leader of Opposition until XIII the Lok Sabha was dissolved on 6.02.2004.

 

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha

 

15.4     Dr. Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Congress (I) Party in the Rajya Sabha continues as the Leader of Opposition with effect from 15.06.2001.

 

Motion of Confidence in the Council of Ministers

 

Genesis:

 

15.5      An essential tenet of the Westminister system is that the government must be collectively responsible to the representative House and possess at all times its confidence. In India, the doctrine of collective responsibility of the Union Executive to the House of the People and of the State Executive to the Legislative Assembly is specifically enshrined in the Constitution. Collective ministerial responsibility is the crux of parliamentary democracy. The Council of Ministers must enjoy the confidence of the House to stay in power. By convention, loss of confidence of the popular House requires the government to resign and facilitate installation of an alternative government. The usual procedure to express want of confidence in the Council of Ministers is through a motion of no confidence under Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of business in Lok Sabha. The device of confidence motion is of recent origin. There is no rule in the Rules of Procedure relating to motion of Confidence in the Council of Ministers. The requirement of moving such a motion was perhaps not visualised at the time of framing of Lok Sabha rules. The necessity of raising debate through such a motion, which is in the nature of an exercise of demonstrating majority support in the Lok Sabha, arose in the late nineteen seventies with the advent of minority governments caused by split in parties and, later, formation of coalition governments as a result of hung parliaments. In the absence of any specific rule in this regard, such motions of confidence have been entertained under the category of motions stipulated in Rule 184, which are meant for raising discussions on matters of public interest. Decisions on such motions are taken under Rule 191 by putting before the house all the necessary questions.

 

15.6      In the case of a confidence motion, there is no requirement for seeking leave of the House. The one line notice of the motion under Rule 184 that This House expresses its confidence in the Council of Ministers is given by the Prime Minister at the behest of a Presidential direction. When admitted by the Speaker, it is bulletined. The date and time for its discussion is then fixed in consultation with the business Advisory Committee. 

 

15.7      Though a confidence motion is worded in the language which is directly opposite to the wording of a no-confidence motion, in effect, the object and purpose of both is same. While, in one case, the majority support is demonstrated by the adoption of the confidence motion, in the other, the same purpose is achieved by the defeat of a no-confidence motion. Where notices are received both for a confidence motion and a no-confidence motion, the former gets priority over the latter.

 

15.8      The notice of the first ever motion of confidence was given by the then Prime Minister, Ch. Charan Singh and admitted for being moved on August 20, 1979. This motion could not be moved as Ch. Charan Singh tendered the resignation of  his Council of Ministers that day and the House was adjourned sine die.

 

15.9      The first motion of confidence was moved by Shri V.P. Singh, the then Prime Minister on December 21, 1989 in the Lok Sabha which was adopted by the House by the voice vote on the same day. A statement showing the ten motions of confidence so far moved is annexed (Appendix - XVII).

 

Introduction of Ministers

 

15.10    Ministers inducted into Council of Ministers are normally introduced to the two Houses by the Prime Minister. However, in exceptional circumstances when the Prime Minister is not available due to indisposition etc., new ministers are  introduced to the Rajya Sabha by the Leader of the House or to the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs(MPA). No entry for the purpose is given in the list of business of the two Houses. During the year under report, the ministers who were inducted into the Council of Ministers were introduced to the Houses as indicated below.

LOK SABHA

______________________________________________________________________________

Date of                          Introduced by           Cabinet Minister          MOS(IC)        MOS

Introduction___________________________________________________________________

17.02..2003                               PM                               2                              1                   5

21.07.2003                                PM                               3                              -                    5

02.12.2003                                PM                               1                              -                    1

_____________________________________________________________________________

RAJYA SABHA

______________________________________________________________________________

Date of                        Introduced by Cabinet Minister        MOS(IC)        MOS

Introduction_____________________________________________________________________

18.02.2003                    PM                                           2                              1              4

18.02.2003                    Leader of House                       -                               -               1

22.07.2003                    PM                                           2                              -               4

23.07.2003                    Leader of House                       1                              -               1

03.12.2003                    Leader of House                       1                              -               1

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes

 

15.11    The Ministry follows the instructions issued by the government of India from time to time regarding reservation of vacancies for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes.

 

15.12    Out of the total number of 125 employees (excluding the personal staff of ministers) of the Ministry, 26 belong to the Scheduled Castes, 16 belong to the Scheduled Tribes and 9 belong to Other Backward Classes.

Budgetary Position

15.13    The Budgetary position of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is as under:

 

(Amount in Thousand of Rupees)

 

Research Work

15.14    The Ministry provides advice/technical guidance on matters of Parliamentary procedure and practices to central ministries/departments and state governments/Union Territory administrations whenever the same is asked for.  From time to time, notes and brochures are prepared on various Parliamentary and constitutional matters for official use.

 

Training to Parliamentary Fellows

15.15    This Ministry imparts training to Parliamentary Fellows sponsored by the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies, New Delhi.

Workshop of Joint Secretaries on Managing Legislative Business

15.16    The Ministry has been organizing short duration Training Courses for officers dealing with Parliamentary work in various departments of the Central Government.  During the period under report, a half-day Workshop of Joint Secretaries on Managing Legislative Business was conducted on October 28, 2003 in collaboration with the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. The Course which was inaugurated by the Secretary, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions was attended by 56 Joint Secretaries/Senior Officers from different Ministries/Departments of Central Government. The Workshop proved to be of immense use to the Officers who are handling Parliamentary work in their Ministries/Departments.  Lectures were organized pertaining to the whole legislative procedures from the conceptual stage of the legislation till it becomes an Act, notified in the Gazette and comes into force (from inspiration to Assent).  The Officers were given some useful tips that might expedite the Legislative proposals, eliminate delays and facilitate smooth processing of Legislative business in Parliament. 

Training Course in Parliamentary Practice and Procedure

            (i) For Officers of Government of India

15.17    The Ministry organised an Orientation Course in Parliamentary Practice and Procedure for officers of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in Parliament House, as per details given below:-

  Designation of Officers                       No. of participants                  Duration

Chief Engineers/Senior Officers             23                                             03.03.2004

       to

                                                                                                            05.03.2004

            (ii) For Officers of State Governments

  15.18    The Ministry organised an Orientation Course in Parliamentary Practice and Procedure for officers of the State Governments in Parliament House, as per details given below :-

States                                      No. of participants                              Duration

Andhra Pradesh,                                8                                                 15.03.2004

Punjab, Uttranchal,                                                                                     to

Tamilnadu and Rajasthan                                                                       19.03.2004

 

 

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