Short and Long Answers - Parliament and the Making of Laws | Social Studies (SST) Class 8 PDF Download

 Very Short Answer Types Questions

Q.2. Name the two Houses of the Parliament.
 Ans. The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
 

Q.3. What is the term or tenure of the Lok Sabha?
 Ans. The tenure of the Lok Sabha is 5 years.
 

Q.4. What makes the Indian Parliament powerful?
 Ans. It is the representative of the people.
 

Q.5. What do you mean by the executive? [Imp.]
 Ans. The executive is a group of persons who work together to implement the laws made by the Parliament.
 

Q.6. Who is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha? [V. Imp.]
 Ans. The Prime Minister is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha.
 

Q.7. Name the ministries that are housed in the North Block.
 Ans. The Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
 

Q.8. Who nominates the 12 members of the Rajya Sabha? [Imp.]
 Ans. The President of India nominates the 12 members of the Rajya Sabha.
 

Q.9. How is the question hour an important mechanism?
 Ans. It is through this mechanism that MPs can elicit information about the workings of the government.
 

Q. 10. What has been done to give adequate representation to the communities that have been historically marginalised? [V. Imp.]
 Ans. Some seats are reserved in the Parliament for people belonging to the SC and ST categories.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q.1. How do the individuals give approval to the government? [V. Imp.]
 Ans. One way of giving approval to the government is through elections. People would elect their representatives to the Parliament. Then, one group from among these elected representatives forms the government. The Parliament, which is made up of all representatives together, controls and guides the government. Thus, people, through their chosen representatives, form the government and control it.
 

Q.2. How is the national government formed?
 Ans. After the Lok Sabha elections are declared, a list is prepared showing how many MPs belong to each political party. For a political party to form the government, they must have a majority of elected MPs. The total membership of the Lok Sabha is 545, of which 543 are elected members while two are nominated. Thus, a party should have at least half the number, i.e., 272 members or more, to have a majority. The opposition in Parliament is formed by all the political parties that oppose the majority party or coalition formed. The largest among these parties is known as the Opposition party.
 

Q.3. Under what circumstances is the coalition government formed? Or write a note to the coalition government. [V. Imp.]
 Ans. The coalition government is a phenomenon of the recent past. At times, it happens that one political party does not get a clear majority, which is required to form the government. In such circumstances, a group of political parties come together to form a government. These political parties are usually interested in similar concerns. The government formed by these parties is popularly known as the coalition government.
 

Q.4. Write a brief note on the Rajya Sabha.
 Ans. The Rajya Sabha is also called the Council of States. The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative of the states of India in the Parliament. It can also initiate legislation, and a bill is required to pass through the Rajya Sabha in order to become law. In this way, it plays an important role in reviewing and altering, if alterations are required, the laws initiated by the Lok Sabha. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of various states. The total strength of the Rajya Sabha is 245, of which 233 members are elected while 12 members are nominated by the President. The Rajya Sabha is chaired by the Vice-President of India.
 

Q.5. What is meant by the Opposition parties? What role do they play in the government? [Imp.]
 Ans. After election results are declared, the leader of the party with a clear majority of elected members forms a government. The other political parties form the opposition. The largest among these parties is known as the Opposition party.
The Opposition parties play a crucial role in the healthy functioning of a democracy. They keep a check on the government by highlighting its drawbacks in various policies and programmes. They also mobilise popular support for their own policies.
 

Long Answer Type Questions

Q.1. How the parliament is constituted? What is the role of the Prime Minister in it? Explain.
 Ans. The Parliament performs the following functions:

• It selects the national government. After the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the Parliament) elections are announced, a list is prepared showing how many MPs belong to each political party. 
• The political party with a majority of elected MPs is eligible to form the government. Here, it is worth mentioning that there are altogether 545 members in the Lok Sabha, of which 543 members are elected and 2 members are nominated. To have a majority a party should have at least half the number i.e., 272 members or more. The other parties form the opposition. 
• The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha. From the MPs who belong to his party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to work with him to implement decisions. These ministers then take charge of different areas of government functioning, such as health, education, etc. When one party does not get a clear majority, a group of parties forms a coalition and elects a leader who forms the government, popularly known as the coalition government.
• The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative of the states of India in the Parliament. The Rajya Sabha can also initiate legislation, and a bill is required to pass through the Rajya Sabha in order to become law. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of various states. There are 233 elected members and 12 nominated by the President.

Q.2. Discuss the role and functions of the Parliament.
 Ans. The parliament is the most important institution in a democracy. It performs the following roles and functions:

• The Lok Sabha selects the executive, which is a group of persons who work together to implement the laws made by the Parliament.
• The Parliament controls, guides and informs the government. The question hour, with which the Parliament in session begins, is an important mechanism through which MPs can elicit information about the workings of the government. This is a very important way through which the Parliament controls the executive. By asking questions, the government is alerted to its shortcomings and also comes to know the opinion of the people through their representatives in the Parliament.
  The government gets valuable feedback and is kept on its toes by the questions asked by the MPs. In addition, in all matters dealing with finances, the Parliament’s approval is crucial for the government. This is one of the several ways in which the Parliament controls, guides and informs the government.
• The Parliament makes law for the entire country.