SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSIGNMENT

CLASS VIII
Why do we need a Parliament (CIVICS)
I. Choose the correct opCon:-
1. Which Act allowed for some elected representaCon.
a. Government of India Act 1909

2. How many members are there in Lok Sabha?

a. 543 elected plus 2 nominated

3. The Parliament, while in session, begins with which hour?

a. Ques>on hour

4. What is a significant funcCon of the Parliament?

a. Making laws

5. Who is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha?

a. Prime Minister of India

6. Which House of the Parliament has 233 elected members plus 12

members nominated by the President.
a. Rajya Sabha

II. Answer the following quesCons in short.

1. Which is an important mechanism through which MPs can elicit
informaCon about the working of the government.
Ans. The ques>on hour is an important mechanism through which MPs
can elicit informa>on about the working of the government.

2. What is the main role of the OpposiCon party?

• Ans. They highlight drawbacks in various policies and programmes of
the government and mobilise popular support for their own policies.

3. What are the candidates of the Parliament called?

Ans. The candidates of the Parliament are called Members of
Parliament.

4. For how long is the Lok Sabha elected?

Ans. Lok Sabha is elected for a period of 5 years.
 5. What was the main principle of the Indian consCtuCon?
Ans. The Cons>tu>on of independent India laid down the principle of
universal adult franchise, i.e. that all adult ci>zens of the country have
the right to vote.

6. MenCon the 2 houses of the Indian Parliament.

Ans. The 2 houses of the Indian Parliament are Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha.

III. Answer the following quesCons in brief.

1. How does the individual give approval to the government?
Ans. One way is through elec>ons. People would elect their
representa>ves to the Parliament, then, one group from among these
elected representa>ves forms the government.
The Parliament, which is made up of all representa>ves together,
controls and guides the government.
In this sense people, through their chosen representa>ves, form the
government and also control it.

2. Describe the role of the Parliament.

Ans. Created aQer 1947, the Indian Parliament is an expression of the
faith that the people of India have in principles of democracy.
These are par>cipa>on by people in the decision-making process and
government by consent.
The Parliament in our system has immense powers because it is the
representa>ve of the people.

3. Who are the People in Parliament?

Ans. There are more rural members as also members from many
regional par>es.
There has also been an increase in poli>cal par>cipa>on from the Dalit
and backward castes and the minori>es.
Some seats are reserved in the Parliament for SCs and STs.

4. When is a coaliCon government formed?

Ans. When a single poli>cal party finds it difficult to get the majority
that is required to form the government, they then join together with
different poli>cal par>es who are interested in similar concerns to form
what is known as a coali>on government.
 IV. Answer the following quesCons in detail.

1. DifferenCate between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

LOK SABHA RAJYA SABHA
1. Members are
directly elected by
the people.
1. It is a temporary
body. It can be
dissolved aAer a
period of 5 years.
2. There are 543
elected plus 2
nominated members
in Lok Sabha.
Members are
indirectly elected.
It is a permanent
body. It cannot be
dissolved.
There are 233
elected members
plus 12 members
nominated by the
President.

2. How does the Parliament select the NaConal Government?

Ans. The Parliament in India consists of the President, the Rajya Sabha
and the Lok Sabha.
AQer the Lok Sabha elec>ons, a list is prepared showing how many MPs
belong to each poli>cal party. For a poli>cal party to form the
government, they must have a majority of elected MPs. Since there are
543 elected (plus 2 nominated) members in Lok Sabha, to have a
majority a party should have at least half the number i.e. 272 members
or more.
The Opposi>on in Parliament is formed by all the poli>cal par>es that
oppose the majority party/coali>on formed. The largest amongst these
par>es is called the Opposi>on party.

3. State the funcCon of the Parliament to Control, Guide and Inform the
Government.
Ans. By asking ques>ons the government is alerted to its shortcomings,
and also comes to know the opinion of the people through their
representa>ves in the Parliament, i.e. the MPs. Asking ques>ons of the
government is a crucial task for every MP.
The Opposi>on par>es play a cri>cal role in the healthy func>oning of a
democracy. They highlight drawbacks in various policies and
 programmes of the government and mobilise popular support for their
own policies.
The government gets valuable feedback and is kept on its toes by the
ques>ons asked by the MPs. The MPs as representa>ves of the people
have a central role in controlling, guiding and informing Parliament and
this is a key aspect of the func>oning of Indian democracy.

4. State the role of the Prime Minister.

Ans. The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the ruling party in the
Lok Sabha.
From the MPs who belong to her party, the Prime Minister selects
ministers to work with her to implement decisions.
These ministers then take charge of different areas of government
func>oning like health, educa>on, finance etc.