Consider the following statements:Assertion (A): The Parliament can re...
- The Constitution authorises the Parliament to form new states or alter the areas, boundaries or names of the existing states without their consent. In other words, the Parliament can redraw the political map of India according to its will.
- Hence, the territorial integrity or continued existence of any state is not guaranteed by the Constitution. Therefore, India is rightly described as ‘an indestructible union of destructible states’. The Union government can destroy the states whereas the state governments cannot destroy the Union.
- In USA, on the other hand, the territorial integrity or continued existence of a state is guaranteed by the Constitution. The American Federal government cannot form new states or alter the borders of existing states without the consent of the states concerned. That is why the USA is described as ‘an indestructible union of indestructible states.’
Consider the following statements:Assertion (A): The Parliament can re...
Assertion (A): The Parliament can redraw the political map of India according to its will.
Reason (R): The territorial integrity of any state is not guaranteed by the Constitution.
The correct answer is option B. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation:
The assertion states that the Parliament can redraw the political map of India according to its will. This means that the Parliament has the authority to modify the boundaries, create new states or union territories, or alter the existing ones.
Parliament's Power:
1. Article 3 of the Indian Constitution grants the Parliament the power to form new states, alter boundaries, and reorganize existing states.
2. This power is subject to certain limitations. The Parliament cannot alter the boundaries or name of a state without the consent of the concerned state legislature.
3. However, if a state legislature passes a resolution to that effect, the Parliament can change the boundaries and name of the state even without its consent.
Reasoning:
The reason given for the assertion is that the territorial integrity of any state is not guaranteed by the Constitution. This means that the Constitution does not provide an absolute guarantee for the preservation of the existing boundaries and territorial integrity of the states.
Constitutional Provisions:
1. The Constitution does not explicitly guarantee the territorial integrity of any state.
2. Article 3 empowers the Parliament to alter the boundaries and reorganize states, which implies that the territorial integrity is not guaranteed.
3. The Constitution provides for the establishment of new states and union territories, and the alteration of boundaries, which indicates that the Parliament has the authority to redraw the political map.
Conclusion:
Both the assertion and the reason are true. The Parliament indeed has the power to redraw the political map of India according to its will, and this power is derived from the constitutional provisions. The reason correctly explains the assertion by highlighting that the Constitution does not guarantee the territorial integrity of any state, thereby allowing the Parliament to exercise its power to modify boundaries and reorganize states.