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About the role of the Council of Ministers in India, with the Chief Minister as the head, the Indian Constitution provides in Article 163, “There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as the head to aid and advise 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.” But as there is a representative form of Government in India, the people’s representatives, i.e., the Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as the head, hold the key. They play the part of the real executive of the State.
Powers and functions of the council of minister
Like the Central Council of Ministers, the State Council of Ministers is the actual executive authority of the State. The main powers and the functions of the State Council of Ministers are the following:
1. Formation of Policy: The State Council of Ministers plays a major role in policy-making according to which the State Government is to run. All major problems concerning the different departments are collectively discussed, and a line to be followed is chalked out. Within this framework, the different ministers formulate their rules to run their departments.
2. Control over the Administration: It is the Council of Ministers that uses all the executive powers of the State. To run the administration smoothly and efficiently, it is divided into different departments, and each department is put under a minister’s charge. Under a ministry, there are many senior and junior bureaucrats who work according to his guidelines.
3. Appointments: All the important appointments in the State are made by the Governor but only on the advice of the Council of Ministers. In practice, the Council of Ministers decides on all important appointments, and the Governor makes the appointments per the decision taken by the Council of Ministers.
4. Enforcement of Laws and Maintenance of Order: It is the role of the Council of Ministers in India to enforce all the laws passed by the State Legislature. There is no use of laws unless they are enforced properly. Whether a law is enforced properly depends upon the Council of Ministers.
Maintaining peace and order in the State is also the role of the Council of Ministers in India.
5. Formulation of Legislative Proposals: Most of the legislative proposals or bills introduced in the State Legislature are formulated by the Council of Ministers. Such bills are called Government Bills. The Council of Ministers not only prepares the bills but also introduces them to the State Legislature and sees that they are passed by it. Because the Council of Ministers has its majority in the State Legislature, they feel no difficulty getting their bills passed.
6. Introduction of Money Bills and Preparation of Budget: The Money Bills involving any income and expenditure can be introduced in the State Legislature only by the Government or any member of the Council of Ministers. None other than the Council of Ministers can introduce such a bill in the State Legislature
The individual and collective role of the council of ministers
It is the individual role of the council of ministers in India to manage the smooth running of his department. He has to answer all types of questions in the state legislature regarding his department and The ministers are collectively responsible to the State Legislature for their acts of omission and commission. If the Chief Minister resigns, it is regarded as the resignation of all the ministers.
Powers of chief Minister in Relation to the Council of Ministers
The Chief Minister occupies the central place in the clerical hierarchy of the State. He enjoys powers as follows:
- The Chief Minister is the master of his Council of Ministers. He is free in selecting his ministers. The Governor appoints all the ministers only on the advice of the Chief Minister.
- The Chief Minister can ask for the resignation of any minister whenever he so desires.
- The Chief Minister distributes different portfolios among his ministers.
- The Chief Minister is the keystone of the Cabinet arch. He presides over the meetings of the Cabinet and decides the agenda for such meetings.
- Each minister is individually answerable to the Chief Minister for the charge.
- The Chief Minister coordinates the work of the different ministers. If there is a clash anywhere, he removes it and makes the working of different departments smooth.
Conclusion
As in the Centre, so in the States, the Council of Ministers works as a single team. Article 164 of the Indian Constitution declares that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the State’s Legislative Assembly. It means that all ministers swim and sink together. A vote of no confidence, passed against any minister, is regarded as a no-confidence vote against all the ministers, and they all have to resign. The ministers are collectively responsible to the State Legislature for their acts of omission and commission. If the Chief Minister resigns, it is regarded as the resignation of all the ministers. The power and functions of the council of ministers play an important role in governing the country.
