Chief Minister And Council Of Minister

Chief Minister And Council Of Minister

• In parliamentary system of government provided by the Constitution, the Governor is the nominal executive authority and the Chief Minister is the real executive
• Before the Chief Minister enters his office, The Governor administers to him the oaths of office and secrecy.

Appointment

• The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Chief Minister
• Article 164 only says that the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor.
• The Governor has to appoint the leader of the majority party in the state legislative assembly as the Chief Minister.
• But, when no party has a clear majority in the assembly, then the Governor may exercise his personal discretion in the selection and appointment of the Chief Minister.
• The Governor may have to exercise his individual judgement in the selection and appointed of the Chief Minister when the Chief Minister in office dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.
• A person who is not a member of the state legislature can be appointed as Chief Minister for six months, within which time, he should be elected to the state legislature, failing which he ceases to be the Chief Minister.

Powers and Functions of Chief Minister

1. In Relation to Council of Ministers
   • The Governor appoints only those persons as ministers who are recommended by the Chief Minister.
   • He allocates and reshuffles the portfolios among Ministers.
   • He can ask a Minister to resign or advise the Governor to dismiss him in case of difference of opinion.
   • 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.
   • He can bring about the collapse of the Council of Ministers by resigning from office. Since the Chief Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers, his resignation or death automatically dissolves the Council of Ministers. The resignation or death of any other minister, on the other hand, merely creates a vacancy, which the Chief Minister may or may not like to fill.
2. In Relation to the Governor
   • He is the principal channel of communication between the Governor and the Council of Ministers.
   • It is the duty of the Chief Minister:
     • To communicate to the Governor of the state all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation;
     • To furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation as the Governor may call for; and
     • If the Governor so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the Council.
     • He advises the Governor with regard to the appointment of important officials like Advocate General, Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission, State Election Commissioner, and so on.
3. In Relation to State Legislature
   • He advises the Governor with regard to the summoning and proroguing of the sessions of the State Legislature.
   • He can recommend the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly to the Governor at any time.
   • He announces the Government policies on the floor of the house.
4. Other Powers and Functions
   • He is the chairman of the State Planning Board.
   • He acts as a Vice-Chairman of the concerned Zonal Council by rotation, holding office for a period of one year at a time.
   • He is a member of the Inter-State Council and the National Development Council, both headed by the Prime Minister.
   • He is the Chief spokesman of the state government.
   • He is the crisis manager-in-chief at the political level during emergencies.
   • As a leader of the state, he meets various sections of the people and receives memoranda from them regarding their problems, and so on.
   • He is the political head of the services

Council of Minister

• The total number of Minister, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Minister in a state shall not exceed 15 percent of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly of that state. But, the number of Ministers, in a state shall not be less than 12 (including Chief Ministers).
• This provision was added by the 91st Amendment Act of 2003.
• They are determined by the Chief Minister according to the exigencies of the time and requirements of the situation.
• The difference between them lies in their respective ranks, emoluments, and political importance. At the top of all these ministers stands the Chief Minister- supreme governing authority in the state.
• The Cabinet Ministers head the important departments of the state government like home, education, finance, agriculture and so forth. They are members of the cabinet, attend its meetings and play an important role in deciding policies. Thus, their responsibilities extend over the entire gamut of state government.
• The Ministers of State can either be given independent charge of departments or can be attached to Cabinet Ministers. However, they are not members of the Cabinet and do not attend the Cabinet meetings unless specially invited when something related to their departments are considered by the Cabinet.
• Next in rank are the Deputy Ministers. They are not given independent charge of departments. They are attached to the Cabinet Ministers and assist them in their administrative, political and parliamentary duties. They are not members of the Cabinet and do not attend Cabinet meetings.