Solution-Class 8-Civics-Chapter-1-Introduction to the Parliamentary System-Maharashtra Board

(a) England

(c) The President

India adopted the parliamentary system of government for several reasons.

• England is where the Parliamentary System of government first emerged.
• India was under British control for almost 150 years. They implemented this type of government throughout this time.
• Indians were therefore accustomed to this form of rule.
• After careful deliberation, the Constituent Assembly likewise decided to adopt this method.
• In order to adapt the Constitution to the needs of India, some amendments were made, and the Parliamentary System was implemented.

• Discussions and deliberations are an integral part of the parliamentary form of government.
• Members of the opposition party also participate in the discussions.
• They may support the government or point out shortcomings in the government policies.
• Laws are framed after detailed discussions on questions of public welfare. This does not happen in autocratic rule.
• Hence, to protect the welfare and freedom of common people, discussions
• and deliberations are important.

• The government system in which the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Legislature for all their actions and policies, is called a Responsible Government.
• In this system, the Council of Ministers has to take the Legislature into confidence during governance.
• Every decision taken by any ministry/department is considered as the decision of the government.
• The decisions or policies of every ministry is the collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers.
• Thus, the principle of collective responsibility adopted by the Council of Ministers makes it a responsible government.

The following are the characteristics of the Presidential System of government :

• The President is directly elected by the people.
• The President has lot of powers including power to implement laws.
• The President is not dependent on the support of the Legislature.
• The Legislature and the Executive are not dependent on each other, but still
• they have mutual control over each other.

• The role of opposition parties is important in Parliamentary as well as Presidential System of government.
• The opposition parties participate in the discussions and point out the
• shortcomings in the policies of the government.
• The opposition parties use arguments based on in-depth research of the subjects brought up in the Parliament to control the Executive.
• The opposition parties' pressure prevents the Executive from acting irresponsibly.
• The opposition parties' attention contributes in avoiding unethical behaviour such as corruption, ignoring the needs of the general people, adopting flawed legislation, etc.