A motion of no-confidence is moved against
- (a)an individual Minister.
- (b)the Council of Ministers.
- (c)the Prime Minister.
- (d)a political party.
Correct — B, the Council of Ministers. A motion of no confidence is directed at the government as a body, not at any one person in it. Under Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha it is a motion expressing want of confidence in the Council of Ministers; it needs the leave of the House, with at least fifty members rising in their places to support the request, and it need not set out any grounds. The reason it must target the whole Council is Article 75(3), which makes the Council collectively responsible to the House of the People — if the House withdraws its confidence, every Minister goes, including the Prime Minister.
- (a)an individual Minister. — An individual Minister cannot be unseated by a no-confidence motion. What can be moved against a single Minister is a censure motion, which must state the charge and does not by itself bring the government down.
- (c)the Prime Minister. — The Prime Minister falls with the Council rather than being named in the motion. The distinction matters because the collective responsibility in Article 75(3) attaches to the body, not to its head.
- (d)a political party. — A political party has no standing in this procedure at all. The House deals with the Council of Ministers it has confidence in, not with the parties its members belong to.
Only the Lok Sabha may entertain a no-confidence motion, since only that House can withdraw confidence. Once the Speaker grants leave, a day is allotted within ten days for discussion, and if the motion is carried the Council of Ministers must resign. A confidence motion is the mirror image, moved by the government itself to demonstrate its majority. A censure motion is a different instrument again — it may be aimed at a single Minister or at the whole Council, it must specify the charge, and its passing does not compel resignation.
The wrong answers here are all near neighbours, and the way to keep them apart is to ask what the motion is testing. Confidence is a property of the government as a whole, so the motion names the Council of Ministers; blame can be individual, so censure may name a Minister. The Prime Minister option is the most tempting because governments are spoken of in the newspapers by the Prime Minister's name, but the constitutional language is collective. Note too that the Rajya Sabha is outside this procedure entirely, which follows from Article 75(3) naming only the House of the People.
- Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha governs a motion of no confidence in the Council of Ministers.
- The motion needs the leave of the House, with at least fifty members rising in support, and need not state any grounds.
- Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the House of the People.
- Only the Lok Sabha can take up a no-confidence motion; the Rajya Sabha cannot.
- A censure motion differs on three counts — it may target one Minister, it must state the charge, and carrying it does not force resignation.
- Naming the Prime Minister as the target; the motion is against the Council of Ministers as a body.
- Assuming a no-confidence motion must state its grounds — Rule 198 requires no reasons, unlike a censure motion.
- Thinking the Rajya Sabha can pass such a motion; only the House of the People can.
As a straight one-line item on what the motion is directed against, or as a not-correct statements question comparing no-confidence and censure motions.
Which one of the following statements is NOT correct?
- (a) In Lok Sabha, a no-confidence motion has to set out the grounds on which it is based
- (b) In the case of a no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, no conditions of admissibility have been laid down in the Rules
- (c) A motion of no-confidence once admitted, has to be taken up within ten days of the leave being granted
- (d) Rajya Sabha is not empowered to entertain a motion of no-confidence
Answer(a) In Lok Sabha, a no-confidence motion has to set out the grounds on which it is based
The same motion examined in detail — that it needs no grounds, that it must be taken up within ten days, and that the Rajya Sabha has no part in it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A motion of no confidence in the Council of Ministers can be moved in which House of Parliament?
- (a)The Rajya Sabha only
- (b)The Lok Sabha only
- (c)Either House
- (d)A joint sitting of both Houses
Answer(b) The Lok Sabha only — Article 75(3) makes the Council collectively responsible to that House alone.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is a feature of a censure motion but not of a no-confidence motion?
- (a)It can be moved only in the Lok Sabha
- (b)It must specify the charge or reasons
- (c)Its passing compels the Council of Ministers to resign
- (d)It requires the support of fifty members
Answer(b) It must specify the charge or reasons — a no-confidence motion need not give any grounds at all.