UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 82 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Legislative Council Size
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectPolity
- TopicParliament
- DifficultyHard
- TypeStatement
Consider the following statements:
1. The Legislative Council of a State in India can be larger in size than half of the Legislative Assembly of that particular State.
2. The Governor of a State nominates the Chairman of Legislative Council of that particular State.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2
Verdict
The answer is neither 1 nor 2. The Legislative Council cannot exceed one third of the Assembly, and its Chairman is elected by the Council itself.
Analysis
Statement 1 is INCORRECT. Article 171(1) caps the strength of a State Legislative Council at one third of the total membership of that State's Legislative Assembly, subject to a minimum of forty, so it can never be larger than half the Assembly. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. The Chairman of the Legislative Council is elected by the members of the Council from among themselves, in the same way the Speaker is elected by the Assembly. The Governor nominates one sixth of the Council's members, which is the fact the distractor is built from.
Source
Articles 171(1) and 172 of the Constitution.
How to crack it
Statement 2 is a partial truth with the object swapped, since the Governor does nominate members but does not choose the presiding officer. Whenever an option gives an authority a power adjacent to one it really holds, check exactly which object the real power attaches to. On the numbers, hold the Council composition as fractions: one third of the Assembly as the ceiling, one sixth nominated by the Governor, and one third each from local bodies and from the Assembly's own members.