TNPSC Group 2, 2A State executive Questions and Answer:

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State executive Notes for TNPSC:

The Governor:

• The Constitution provides for the post of the Governor as the Head of a State in India. He is appointed by the President of India.
• He is the constitutional head of a State. The Governor is appointed for a term of five years. But before the expiry of his full term, the President can dismiss him from office.
• According to Article 158 (3A), where the same person is appointed as Governor of two or more States, the emoluments and allowances payable to the Governor shall be allocated among the States in such proportion as the President may by order determine.
• He can also resign any time by addressing his resignation to the President.
• His term of office may be extended and he may be transferred to another State. However, the State Government cannot remove the Governor from his post.
• To be the Governor, a person must be a citizen of India and should have completed 35 years of age. And he cannot be a member of the Parliament or the State legislature. He should not hold any office of profit.

Qualification:

Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They are as follows:

•  He should be a citizen of India.
•  He must have completed 35 years of age.
•  Governor should not be a member of Parliament or of any State Legislature. If he is a member of any of the Legislature, he automatically vacates his seat on assuming the office.
•  He should not hold any other profitable occupation.

Do you Know?

While appointing the Governor, the President acts as per the advice of the Union Cabinet. The State Government is also consulted when the appointment is to be made. Generally, a person is not appointed Governor in his own State.

Powers and functions of Governor:

• The Governor is the head of the state executive and he has enormous powers. In the exercise of functions and powers, the Governor, except in certain cases, is to be guided by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister (under Article 163).

Executive Powers:

•  He appoints the leader of the majority party in the State Legislative Assembly as the Chief Minister of the State.
• He appoints other members of the Council of Ministers on the recommendation of the Chief Minister.
•  Governor appoints the Chairman and Members of the State Public Service Commission.
•  He appoints the state election commissioner and determines his conditions of service and tenure of office and he acts as the chancellor of universities in the state. Governor also appoints the Vice-Chancellors of universities in the state.  He directly rules a State when there is the imposition of the President’s rule in the State.

Legislative Powers:

The Governor is an integral part of the state legislature. But, he is not a member of either house of the legislature. In this capacity, he enjoys the following legislative powers and functions:

•  He has the right to summon, prorogue the state legislature and dissolve the State Legislative Assembly.
•  He can address the state legislature at the commencement of the first session after each general election and the first session of each year.
•  Governor can send messages to the houses of the state legislature relating to a bill pending in the legislature.
•  He can appoint any member of the Legislative Assembly to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant.
•  Governor can nominate one member to the State Legislative Assembly from the Anglo- Indian Community.
•  He nominates 1/6 of the members of the  State Legislative Council from amongst the persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, cooperative movement, and social service.
•  Governor can promulgate ordinances when the state legislature is not in session under Article 213. But, these ordinances must be approved by the legislature within six months. He can also withdraw an ordinance at any time.
• He has to lay the annual reports of the State Finance Commission, the State Public Service Commission, and the Comptroller and Auditor General relating to the accounts of the state, before the state legislature.

Financial Powers:

•  The Constitution confers on the Governor, the duty to get prepared and introduced to the State Legislature, the annual budget, and also the supplementary budgets, if necessary.
•  Money Bills can be introduced in the Legislative Assembly only with his prior recommendation.
•  He can make advances out of the state Contingency Fund to meet any unforeseen expenditure.
•  He constitutes a Finance Commission after every five years to review the financial position of the panchayats and the municipalities.

Judicial Powers:

•  He appoints the Attorney-General of the State.
•  He makes appointments, postings, and promotions of the District Judges in consultation with the State High Court.  The Chief Justice of the High Court in the State is appointed by the President in consultation with him. He can pardon, commute or reprieve punishment on receipt of appeals for mercy except for death sentence.

 Discretionary Powers:

• The Governor can reserve a bill for the consideration of the president.
• He can call the leader of any party to form a ministry in the state when there is no clear-cut majority to any party in the Legislative
• Assembly after the general elections. He can dismiss the Council of Ministers when it is unable to prove the confidence of the Legislative Assembly; and

Emergency Powers:

• If the Governor is satisfied that the government of the state is not carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, he may, under Article 356, recommend to the President to impose President Rule in that State.
• As soon as President Rule is imposed, the administration of the State is carried on by the Governor as the representative of the President.

Privileges of the Governor:

• Article 361(1) provides for the following privileges for the Governor;
•  The Governor of a State is not answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office or for any act done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of those powers and duties.
•  No process for the arrest or imprisonment of the Governor of a State shall issue from any court during his term of office.

Chief Minister:

• In the scheme of the Parliamentary system of government provided by the constitution, the governor is the nominal executive authority and the Chief Minister is the real executive authority. In other words, the governor is the head of the State while the Chief Minister is the head of the government.

The appointment of the Chief Minister:

• The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor of the State.
• The term of the Chief Minister is not fixed. He may remain as the Chief Minister as long as he enjoys the support of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly.
• He has to resign when he losses the confidence of the majority in the assembly. It is ‘understood that normally he completes 5 years term like other members in the Legislative Assembly.

Powers and Functions of Chief Minister:

Relating to the Council of Ministers:

•  The Chief Minister recommends the persons who can be appointed as ministers by Governor.
•  He allocates the portfolios among the ministers.
•  Shuffles and reshuffles his ministry.
•  He presides over the meetings of the Council of Ministers and influences its decisions.
•  He guides, directs, controls, and coordinates the activities of all the ministers.

Relating to the Governor:

He advises the Governor in relation to the appointment of the following officials:

• Advocate General of the State.
• Chairman and Members of the State Public Service Commission.
• State Election Commissioner.
• Chairman and Members of the State Planning Commission.
• Chairman and Members of the State Finance Commission.

Relating to State Legislature:

• He announces the government policies on the floor of the house.
• The Chief Minister advises the Governor with regard to the summoning and proroguing the sessions of the state legislature.
• He can introduce the bills in the Legislative Assembly.
• He can recommend the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly to the Governor anytime.

Council of Ministers:

• The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the State Legislature. All the members of the Council of Ministers must be members of the State Legislature.
• Those who are not the members at the time of their appointment must secure their seats in the Legislature within a period of 6 months. If a no-confidence motion is passed by the Legislative Assembly, the State Ministry shall resign.
• Article 163 provides for a Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor. According to Article 163(1), there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advice the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.

Other Provisions Relating to Ministers:

• Article 164(1) holds that the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor.
• Article 164(1A) states that the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State shall not exceed fifteen percent of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly.

The functions and powers of the Council of Ministers:

•  It formulates and decides the policies of the state and implements them effectively.
• It decides the legislative programs of the Legislative Assembly and sponsors all important bills.
• Each minister of the Council of Ministers supervises, controls, and coordinates the department concerned.
•  It controls the financial policy and decides the tax structure for the public welfare of the state.
•  It makes the important appointments of the Heads of Departments.
• Annual Financial Statement called as the Budget is finalized by the Council of Ministers.
•  It discusses and takes efforts on the dispute with other states.
•  Frames the proposal for incurring expenditure out of state reserves.
•  It decides all the bills whether ordinary bills or money bills to be introduced in the Legislative Assembly.

Position of the Governor:

• The position of the Governor of a State is compared to the President of India as a nominal executive.
• But the Governor is not always a nominal executive. He can exercise his powers in the real sense on some occasions.
• He acts as an agent of the Central Government in a State. Therefore, he is responsible for maintaining relations between the Central Government and the State Government. The Governor may advise the Council of Ministers when facing difficult situations.
• The President declares an emergency in a State on the basis of the report of the Governor regarding the law and order situation in the State. The Governor takes independent decisions while exercising discretionary powers. He may seek information from the Council of Ministers regarding various activities of the Government.

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