Question

In a parliamentary system, to whom is the executive responsible?
A) The president of the nation
B) The house of the people
C) The Legislature
D) The Judiciary

Answer 1

Hint: The political systems which are based on the principle of separation of powers between three organs of the government (Legislature, Executive and Judiciary), like ours, there is a concept of check and balances.
Through this, the three organs keep a check on the power exercised by the other organs so as to keep a balance and prevent misuse of power by any of them.

Complete answer:
Dr Ambedkar in his statement while introducing the draft Constitution in the Constituent Assembly 1948, observed “In England where the parliamentary system prevails the assessment of responsibility of the executive is both daily and periodic and is done by members of parliament through questions, no confidence motions, adjournment motions and debates on addresses.”

A) The President of the Nation- In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a largely ceremonial monarch or president. However the powers are majorly given and comes to the head of the cabinet i.e. the prime minister. Thus it is not the correct option.

B) The House of the People- The executive is not responsible to the House of the People alone. Thus it is not the correct option.

C) The Legislature- In the parliamentary system of the government, the executive is responsible to the elected legislature, and it’s the duty of the executive to maintain the confidence of the legislature. There are situations where the legislature can express its lack of confidence in the executive. In such cases, the governing party or the ruling party can be changed by general elections. Thus it is the correct option.

D) The Judiciary- The executive is not prima facie responsible to the judiciary. The Judiciary role is to make sure that the laws enforced by the executive are implemented properly and being followed without any breach. However if the executive exceeds or abuses its power then the judiciary may interfere in such extreme situations. Thus it is not the correct option.

Hence Option C is the correct answer.

Note:In the Westminster type of parliamentary system, the principle of separation of powers is not as strongly followed and inculcated in the system as in some others like India.
In this system, the members of the executive are also the members of the legislature, and thus they play the dual role of both writing and enforcing the law.