Is the office of President a mere rubber stamp?
Under the Constitution of India, the President is the constitutional head of the Union Government who exercises his constitutional powers and functions on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister as per the mandate of Article 74 of the Constitution. In actual constitutional practice, the Prime Minister makes the decisions and just informs the President as a courtesy who is bound to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
However, the President has limited scope to return the advice of the Council of Ministers for its reconsideration once but thereafter, if the Council reiterates its view, the President will be bound to accept the same. This position is now well-settled after the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 and numerous judgments of the Supreme Court on this issue. But it does not mean that the President is merely a rubber stamp or only a mouthpiece of the Central Government who dances as per the instructions of the elected government.
A President who is well versed in constitutional law and practice can make a difference. The President has a constitutional right to seek information from the Prime Minister under Article 78 of the Constitution. The President reads all the papers and can seek clarifications/explanations from the government as and when required. During his tenure, President K. R. Narayanan exercised referral power two times. He returned the advice of the Cabinet for its reconsideration regarding the imposition of the President’s rule in the States of U.P. and Bihar during the Gujral and Vajpayee Governments respectively and saved those governments. This is called presidential activism.
- Moral authority- The population of the country is a crucial factor in the election of the President and gives the President a greater moral authority.
- Disagree with decisions- The President does not directly exercise the executive authority of the Union but he can disagree with the decision of the Council of Ministers, caution and counsel them.
- Ask for reconsideration of decisions- The President can ask the Cabinet to reconsider its decisions but if the Cabinet, after such reconsideration, sends the same proposal back without any change, the President will have to sign it.
- That is because, it is the Cabinet which is responsible for the government’s decisions and the President is in no way personally responsible for those decisions which he or she approves.
- Broader view- The Constitution of India gives the President the freedom to take a broader view of things uninfluenced by the narrow political view of the executive.
- This can be seen from the oath that contains two solemn promises.
- The President shall preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
- The President shall devote himself or herself to the service and the well-being of the people of India.
- Influence the government- There were Presidents such as Rajendra Prasad and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who openly differed with the government on certain policy issues and could exert tremendous influence on the government.
- It is possible for a President to intervene on behalf of the citizenry against the tyranny of the executive and persuade it to give up its ways.
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