Insights Static Quiz -311, 2019–Polity

Solution: B

Unlike the question hour, the zero hour is not mentioned in the Rules of
Procedure. Thus it is an informal device available to the members of the
Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice. The zero hour starts
immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day
(ie, regular business of the House) is taken up.

In other words, the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known as zero hour. It is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence since 1962.

Solution: C

The fundamental principle underlying the working of parliamentary system
of government is the principle of collective responsibility. Article 75 clearly
states that the council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok
Sabha. This means that all the ministers own joint responsibility to the Lok
Sabha for all their acts of ommission and commission.

They work as a team and swim or sink together. When the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion against the council of ministers, all the ministers have to resign including those ministers who are from the Rajya Sabha.

The principle of collective responsibility also means that the Cabinet
decisions bind all cabinet ministers (and other ministers) even if they
differed in the cabinet meeting. It is the duty of every minister to stand by
cabinet decisions and support them both within and outside the
Parliament. If any minister disagrees with a cabinet decision and is not
prepared to defend it, he must resign.

Solution: A

According to the directions of Supreme Court, the Election Commission
made provision in the ballot papers / EVMs for None of the Above (NOTA)
option so that the voters who come to the polling booth and decide not to vote
for any of the candidates in the fray, are able to exercise their right not to
vote for such candidates while maintaining the secrecy of their ballot.

The voters polled against the NOTA option are not taken into account for
calculating the total valid voters polled by the contesting candidates for
the purpose of return of security deposits to candidates. Even if the number
of electors opting for NOTA options is more than the number of votes
polled by any of the candidates, the candidate who secures the largest
number of votes has to be declared elected.

Solution: B

The 61 st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988 reduced the voting age
from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha as well as the assembly elections. This was done in order to provide to the unrepresented youth of the
country an opportunity to express their feelings and help them become a part
of political process.

Solution: D

The recognition granted by the Election Commission to the parties determines
their right to certain privileges like allocation of the party symbols,
provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television
and radio stations and access to electoral rolls.
Further, the recognized parties need only one proposer for filing the
nomination.

Also, these parties are allowed to have forty “star campaigners” during the time of elections and the registered–unrecognized parties are allowed to have twenty “star campaigners”. The travel expenses of
these star campaigners are not included in the election expenditure of the
candidates of their parties.