Sambhav-2023

Approach

• Start your answer by giving a brief about the parliamentary and presidential types of govt.
• Give arguments in favour and against for Presidential form of govt. for India.
• Discuss the benefits of the parliamentary form of govt. For India.
• Conclude suitably.

Introduction

There are two forms of government, Parliamentary and Presidential. In Parliamentary System, the political party winning the majority seats in the parliament makes the government and elects a person from among themselves as the Prime Minister who is the head of the Government.

On the other hand, in the presidential form of government, the President is the chief executive, who is directly elected by the people or by the members of the electoral college.

Body

Arguments in Favour of the Presidential System for India:

• Stable Executive: It establishes a stable executive which does not depend upon the fluctuating will of the legislature especially in case of coalition governments.
• Ability over Electability: Cabinet posts would not be limited to those who are electable rather than those who are able. The President can appoint anyone as secretaries (equivalent to minister).
• Effective Check and Balance: It establishes the presidency and the legislature as two parallel structures. This allows each structure to monitor and check the other, hence preventing the abuse of power.
• Role of Citizens: At the end of a fixed period of time, the public would be able to judge the individual’s performance, rather than on political skill at keeping a government in office.

Argument Against the Presidential Form:

• Lack of Cooperation: A weakness of the system is its failure to ensure the co-operation between law-makers and administrators.
• Autocratic: A presidential system centralizes power in one individual unlike the parliamentary system, where the Prime Minister is the first among equals. The surrender to the authority of one individual, as in the presidential system, is dangerous for democracy.
• Concerns over Separation of Powers: If the legislature is dominated by the same party to which the President belongs, he may prevent any move from the legislature.

Benefits of the Parliamentary System of India:

• Ensures Diverse Representation: By looking at the diversity and the number of parties from different states, India needs a diverse cabinet to fulfill the aspirations of millions. Hence, the parliamentary system ensures the regional representations by selecting candidates from different parts of the country.
• Basic Structure of Constitution: It is part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Altering the parliament system would face legal hurdles.
• Prevents Authoritarianism: Since the executive is responsible to the legislature, and can vote it out in a motion of no confidence, there is no authoritarianism. Also, unlike the presidential system, power is not concentrated in one hand, rather in a group of individuals (Council of Ministers).
• Better Coordination: Since the executive is a part of the legislature, and generally the majority of the legislature supports the government, it is easier to pass laws and implement them.
• Matured System: It is an old system and can give news ideas with its experience in a democratic setup.

Conclusion

During the constituent Assembly debates, it considered the Parliamentary form of Government the best due to the familiarity with the system from the British time and due to fear of the presidential system of govt. turning into a dictatorial system. Considering the positives attached to the parliamentary form of Government we can conclude that it is far much better than the presidential form of Government for India.