What is the basic eligibility criteria to become Prime Minister or council of ministers?
The Prime Minister and all the ministers must be members of the Parliament. Someone who is not a member of parliament and is appointed as the Prime Minister or as minister can become MP by getting elected within 6 months from the date of appointment.
What are the drawbacks of a coalition government in a parliamentary executive system?
The recent developments of the coalition has led to an increase in discretionary powers of the President, decrease in authority of the Prime Minister, and put restrictions on choosing Council of Ministers and assigning them portfolios. Moreover the policies of the government cannot be decided by the Prime Minister alone and political parties with different ideologies cause a lot of negotiations and compromises and decision making.
Why is there a limit to the size of the council of ministers?
In cases when there was no clear majority, to gain the support of members of parliament, ministerial positions were given to a large number of members. To curb this tendency, a limit was imposed on the size of the council of ministers.
Why should bureaucracy be politically neutral?
In a democracy the political parties may keep changing after a period of time. The new government thus formed may want to change policies made by the previous government. Thus, to efficiently and faithfully participate in drafting policy the bureaucracy must be politically neutral.
How does the parliamentary executive system differ at state level?
At state level the parliamentary executive system operates with certain variations from national level. In place of the President, the state has a Governor who is appointed by the central government and exercises more power than the Chief Minister. The chief minister of the state, like the Prime Minister of the nation, is the leader of the majority party in the assembly.
