Miscellaneous: UPSC Previous Year Questions (Polity)

Explanation

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 19, 2023. The Bill seeks to reserve one-third of the total number of seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women. Key features of the Bill:

Statement 1 is incorrect: The next delimitation exercise, or redrawing of constituency boundaries, is scheduled to be held in 2026. Effectively, this means that the earliest implementation of the women’s quota in the Lok Sabha can be in the 2029 general election (19th Lok Sabha), rather than in next year’s polls.

Statement 2 is correct: The reservation will be effective after the census conducted after the commencement of this Bill has been published. Based on the census, delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women. The reservation will be provided for a period of 15 years. However, it shall continue till such date as determined by a law made by Parliament.

Statement 3 is correct: The Bill reserves, as nearly as may be, one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. This will also apply to the seats reserved for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and state legislatures. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation, as determined by a law made by Parliament.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: The authority to recognize and declare a community as a Scheduled Tribe is vested in the President of India under Article 342 of the Indian Constitution. The President issues a notification specifying the Scheduled Tribes in relation to a State or Union Territory, after consulting with the Governor of the concerned State. However, the Governor does not have independent authority to declare any community as a Scheduled Tribe.

Statement 2 is correct: The status of a Scheduled Tribe is State/ Union Territory-specific. A community recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in one State may not necessarily enjoy the same status in another State unless it is explicitly notified as such for that State by the President. This reflects the differing socio-economic and cultural contexts across States, as well as variations in tribal populations.

Explanation

Pair 1 is correctly matched: Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS: Indian People’s Association) was established in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: Rajagopalachari was associated with the Swatantra Party, not with the Socialist Party.

Pair 3 is correctly matched: Jagjivan Ram formed the Congress for Democracy in 1977. It was established after Jagjivan Ram, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, and Nandini Satpathy parted ways with Indira Gandhi’s Indian National Congress, criticizing her leadership during the Emergency.

Pair 4 is incorrectly matched: Acharya Narendra Dev was deeply involved in the peasant movement and held the position of president of the All-India Kisan Congress. He remained affiliated with the Socialist Party and later the Praja Socialist Party until his passing in 1956.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Part IXA of the Constitution was inserted by the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992. It contains provisions for local self-government at the urban level (including powers of the municipalities).

Statement 2 is correct: Emergency provisions are outlined in Part XVIII of the Constitution, covering Articles 352 to 360, including National Emergency (Article 352), State Emergency (Article 356), and Financial Emergency (Article 360). These provisions empower the Central government to address any extraordinary situations effectively.

Statement 3 is correct: Part XX deals with the provisions related to the amendment of the Constitution (Art 368). Parliament may, in the exercise of its constituent power, amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of the Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this part.