Chief Minister of the State

 

 

· The State Executive consists of the Governor, the Chief Minister of State, the Council of Minister and the Advocate General of the State.

· According to Constitution, each State shall have a Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions.

· The Chief Minister serves as the head of the government in the State. Therefore, the Council of Ministers along with the Chief Minister as its head, exercises real authority in the State Government.

 

Powers and Functions of Chief Minister

· The constitutional position of the Chief Minister of the State is generally similar to that of the Prime Minister of India. Chief Minister serves as the head of the Council of Ministers of the State.

·  The powers and functions of Chief Minister can be classified under following heads –

Powers and Functions of Chief Minister With respect to Council of Ministers

·  The following are the powers of Chief Minister with respect to state council of ministers –

a. He advises the Governor to appoint any person as a minister. It is only according to his advice, the Governor appoints ministers.

b.   Allocation and reshuffling of portfolios among ministers.

c.    In case of difference of opinion; he can ask minister to resign.

d.   Presides over the meetings of the council of ministers and influences its decisions.

e.    Directs, guides and controls activities of all the ministers.

f.     If the Chief Minister resign then full cabinet has to resign.

Powers and Functions of Chief Minister With Respect to Governor

·  The functions with respect to the Governor are as follows –

a.  Chief Minister has to communicate to the Governor all the decisions of the council of ministers relating to the administration of the states.

b. The Chief Minister has to furnish information related to the administration of the State and also about the proposals for legislation to the Governor.

c. The Governor can ask for consideration of council of ministers when a decision has been taken without the consideration of the cabinet.

d. Chief Minister advises Governor regarding the appointment of important officials like Attorney General, State Public Service Commission (Chairman and Members), and State Election Commission etc.

Powers and Functions of Chief Minister With Respect to State Legislature

·  The Chief Minister enjoys the following powers as the leader of the house –

a.  All the policies are announced by him on the floor of the house.

b. He recommends dissolution of legislative assembly to the Governor at any time.

c. He advises the Governor regarding summoning, proroguing the sessions of State Legislative Assembly from time to time.

Other Powers and Functions of Chief Minister

·  In addition, the Chief Minister also performs the following functions –

a. He is the chief spokesman of the state government.

b. At the ground level he is the authority to be in contact with the people regularly and know about their problems so as to bring about policies on the floor of the assembly.

c. He acts as the chairman of State Planning Commission.

d. He is the vice chairman of concerned zonal council in rotation for a period of one year.

e. He is a member of the Inter-State Council and the National Development Council, both headed by the prime minister.

f.  During emergencies he acts as the crisis manager in the state.

Relationship of the Governor with the Chief Minister of the State

·  Since, the Governor is the constitutional head of the State, all executive actions in the State are taken in his name.

·  The Article 163, 164 and 167 of the Indian Constitution deals with the relationship of the Chief Minister of the State with the Governor.

Article 163

· There shall be a council of ministers with the Chief Minister as the head to aid and advice the governor on the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.

Article 164

·  It States –

§ The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the governor and other ministers shall be appointed by the governor on the advise of the Chief Minister

§ The ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the governor

§ The council of ministers shall be collectively responsible to the legislative assembly of the state.

Article 167

·  It shall be 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.

§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.

Imposition of President’s Rule by Governor

·If the Governor finds that the constitutional machinery of the State has broken down or the administration cannot be carried in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, he can recommend proclamation of emergency in the State to the President.

·The Governor in his report can advise the President to impose President’s Rule in the State. If the President agrees with the Governor, he is empowered to declare emergency under Article 356, popularly known as President’s Rule.

·After the proclamation, the State comes under the control of the Central Government and the Governor acts as the Centre’s agent. The Council of Ministers stands dismissed and Assembly is dissolved.

·When the Chief Minister enjoys the confidence of the State legislature, the Governor’s capacity to exercise his discretionary powers gets limited to a large extent. In such situation, the Chief Minister acts as the real head of the State administration and the Governor acts as the constitutional head only.

 

So this was all about the Powers and Functions of Chief Minister and Relationship of the Governor with Chief Minister. If you want to learn about Powers and Functions of Prime Minister of India Click Here.

In the Next Post (Click Here), we are going to discuss the State Council of Ministers and the Cabinet of the State. If you like our Notes, than do subscribe our Facebook Page, so that you get regular updates.