Prime Minister The whole organization and working of the Council of Ministers depend upon the Prime Minister. The President always acts in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. The ministry-making is the sole right of the Prime Minister. The resignation or removal of the Prime Minister always means the resignation of the Council of Ministers. Hence, Prime Minister is the centre of gravity and the foundation stone of the Council of Ministers.

Introduction

The office of the Prime Minister is the most powerful office in India. If Cabinet is the strongest institution, the Prime Minister is the strongest person in the cabinet under the Constitution of India, the real centre of power is the office of the Prime Minister. He is the Head of the Government of India. He is the real custodian of all executive authority.

Prime Minister of India: The Real Executive

If the President is the Constitutional Head of the State, the real executive is the Council of Ministers established by Article 74(1) with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions and he is constitutionally required to always act in accordance with such advice.

The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the President cannot be inquired into by any court.

Article 361 (1) also provides that the President shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office. The question of Ministerial advice cannot be brought before courts and personal immunity from legal action, whether during office or thereafter, is given to the President for any act done or purporting to be done by him in the exercise and performance of those powers and duties.

It also establishes that the relations between the President and his Ministers are confidential, before 1978. The Constitution simply provided for the Council of Ministers and the use of the term Cabinet in the context of the machinery of government was nowhere mentioned.

The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, has institutionalized the term Cabinet by recognising it and distinguishing it from other Ministers who are members of the Council of Ministers. The newly inserted Clause (3) in Article 452 provides that the President shall not issue a Proclamation of Emergency or a Proclamation varying it “unless the decision of the Union Cabinet (that is to say, the Council consisting of the Prime Minister and other Ministers of Cabinet rank appointed under Article 75)” is communicated to him in writing.

Appointment of the Prime Minister:

The Constitution simply lies down that the Prime Minister is to be appointed by the President. In doing so the President follows the rules of the parliamentary system. He appoints the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister. Whenever a party gets a clear majority in Lok Sabha elections, the President plays a little role and he appoints the leader of such a party or a coalition group as the Prime Minister. However, in case no party gets a majority and some parties are even unable to elect a common candidate as their leader, the President can play a real role in the appointment of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister need not be a sitting member of the Parliament:

Further, that any person who is not a member of either House of the Parliament can also becomes a minister or the Prime Minister and he can remain so for six months, within this period he has to essentially get the membership of either House. In case he fails to do so, he loses his office of Minister/Prime Minister.

Eligibility

According to Article 84 of the Constitution of India, which sets the principal qualifications for member of Parliament, and Article 75 of the Constitution of India, which sets the qualifications for the minister in the Union Council of Minister, and the argument that the position of prime minister has been described as 'first among equals',[11] A prime minister must:

Be a citizen of India.

A member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. If the person chosen as the prime minister is neither a member of the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha at the time of selection, he or she must become a member of either of the houses within six months.

be above 25 years of age if he or she is a member of Lok Sabha or above 30 years of age if he is a member of the Rajya Sabha.

not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments.

If however a candidate is elected as the prime minister he/she must vacate their post from any private or Government Company/ sector and may take up the post only on completion of his /her term

Oath

The Prime Minister is required to make and subscribe in the presence of President of India before entering office, the oath of office and secrecy, as per the Third Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Tenure

Theoretically, the Prime Minister holds office during the pleasure of the President. It really means, so long as he enjoys the confidence of majority in Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha can pass a vote of no-confidence against him and in this case the Prime Minister either submits his resignation to the President or gets dismissed by the President.

Powers and Functions of the Prime Minister:

Formation of the Council of Ministers

The task of formation of the ministry begins with the appointment of the Prime Minister by the President. After the appointment of Prime Minister, the President appoints all other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The PM determines the strength of his ministry and selects his team of ministers. However this number cannot be more than 15% of the total membership of the Lok Sabha.

Normally, most of the ministers are drawn from Lok Sabha. Prime Minister decides who amongst them shall be the Cabinet Minister and who will be Minister of State or a Deputy Minister. He can, if he so desires, even have one or two Deputy Prime Ministers in his Council of Ministers

Allocation of Portfolios: 

It is an undisputed privilege of the Prime Minister to allocate portfolios to his ministers. Which particular department is to be given to which minister is determined by him. Any minister objecting to such an allotment invites the wrath of the Prime Minister and can get completely ignored from the ministry.

Change of Portfolios: 

The Prime Minister has the power to change the departments (portfolios) of the ministers at any time. It is his privilege to shuffle and re-shuffle his ministry any time and as many times as he may like.

 Chairman of the Cabinet: 

The Prime Minister is the leader of the Cabinet. He presides over its meetings. He decides the agenda of its meetings. In fact all matters in the Cabinet are decided with the approval and consent of the Prime Minister. It is up to him to accept or reject proposals for discussions in the Cabinet. All ministers conform to his views and policies. There is scope for deliberations and discussions but not for opposition

Removal of Ministers: 

The Prime Minister can demand resignation from any minister at any time, and the latter has to accept the wishes of the former. However, if any minister may fail to resign, the Prime Minister can get him dismissed from the President. 

Chief Link between the President and the Cabinet:

The Prime Minister is the main channel of communication between the President and the Cabinet. He communicates to the President all decisions of the Cabinet, and puts before the Cabinet the views of the President. This is the sole privilege of the Prime Minister and no other minister can, of his own convey the decisions or reveal to the President the nature or summary of the issues discussed in the Cabinet.

Chief Coordinator: 

The Prime Minister acts as the general manager of the state and the chief coordinator. It is his responsibility to co-ordinate the activities of all the departments and to secure co-operation amongst all government departments. He resolves all differences, among the ministers.

Leader of the Parliament:

As the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister is also the leader of the Parliament. In this capacity, it is the PM who, in consultation with the Speaker of this Lok Sabha, decides the agenda of the House. The summoning and the proroguing of Parliament is in fact decided by him and the President only acts upon his advice.

Power to get the Parliament Dissolved: 

The Prime Minister has the power to advise the President in favour of a dissolution of the Lok Sabha. This power of dissolution really means that the members hold their seats in the House at the mercy of the Prime Minister.

Director of Foreign Affairs: 

As the powerful and real head of the government, the Prime Minister always plays a key role in determining Indian foreign policy and relations with other countries. He may or may not hold the portfolio of foreign affairs but he always influences all foreign policy decisions.

Role as the Leader of the Nation: 

Besides being the leader of his party and the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister is also the leader of the nation. General elections are fought in his name. We know that it was the charismatic and charming personality of Pt. Nehru that used to sweep popular votes in favour of the Congress party. The personality of the Prime Minister and the respect and love, that he commands act as a source of strength for his party as well as the nation. He leads the nation both in times of peace and war.

 Power of Patronage: 

All important appointments are really made by the Prime Minister. These appointments include Governors, Attorney-General, Auditor General, Members and Chairman of Public Service Commission, Ambassadors, Consular etc. All high ranking appointments and promotions are made by the President with the advice of the Prime Minister.

Role of Prime Minister during an Emergency: 

The emergency powers of the President are in reality the powers of the Prime Minister. The President declares an emergency only under the advice of the Cabinet, which in reality means the advice of the Prime Minister. All decisions taken to meet an emergency are really the decisions of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister can get the imposition of President’s rule in a State. The Presidential decision in favour of imposing an emergency in a state is always governed by the decision of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

Position of the Prime Minister

The office of PM is very powerful: 

A study of the powers and functions of the Prime Minister clearly brings out the fact that he holds the most powerful office in the Indian. He exercises real and formidable powers in all spheres of governmental activity—executive, legislative and financial. The Prime Minister is the captain of the ship of state, the key stone of cabinet arch, the steering wheel of government, and the moon amongst lesser stars.

The whole organization and working of the Council of Ministers depend upon the Prime Minister. The President always acts in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. The ministry-making is the sole right of the Prime Minister. The resignation or removal of the Prime Minister always means the resignation of the Council of Ministers. Hence, Prime Minister is the centre of gravity and the foundation stone of the Council of Ministers.

The President of India always acts upon the advice of the PM:

The President always acts upon the advice of the Prime Minister. The constitution assigns to the latter the role of being the chief advisor to the President. All the powers of the President, both the normal powers and the emergency powers, are really the powers of the Prime Minister.

As the head of the government, leader of the Cabinet, leader of the majority, leader of the Parliament and the leader of the nation, the Prime Minister plays an important an powerful role in the Indian Political System. Indeed the Prime Minister occupies a very powerful rather the most powerful position in India.

The PM cannot become a dictator: 

Undoubtedly, the Prime Minister of India enjoys a very strong position, yet he can neither be a dictator nor even behave like a dictator. His office is a democratic office to which he rises only through an effective participation in the democratic process.

The party to which the Prime Minister belongs, his own ministerial colleagues who are also his competitors, the leaders of the opposition parties, the President of India, the Parliament, the Press, the Constitution, and the public in general, all act as limitations upon him. These prevent him from becoming a dictator and from acting in an arbitrary way. His personality and skills are continuously on test. Any failure or lapse can cause his exit.

The office of the Prime Minister of India is a powerful democratic office. Its actual working depends upon the personal qualities and political status of the person who holds this office. However no one can convert his office into an authoritarian or dictatorial office. A person can remain Prime Minister only so long as he follows democratic norms and values.