MPPSC 2023 Prelims Paper-I · Question 83 of 100

Correct — C, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and President. Article 79 states: 'There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).' Although the President is not a member of either House (Article 59(1)), the President is constitutionally an integral part of Parliament — summoning, proroguing and (for the Lok Sabha) dissolving the Houses, addressing Parliament, and giving assent before a bill passed by both Houses can become law.

• (a)Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha — Incomplete — this is the everyday, colloquial sense of 'Parliament,' but Article 79 makes the President a constitutional part of Parliament too.
• (b)Lok Sabha and President — Wrong — this leaves out the Rajya Sabha, one of the two Houses Article 79 names.
• (d)Prime Minister, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — Wrong — the Prime Minister is a member of one House but is not, by Article 79's definition, a constituent part of 'Parliament'; the President is.

Article 79 defines 'Parliament' as the President plus two Houses — the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President, while not sitting as a member of either House (Article 59(1)), performs constitutive parliamentary functions: summoning and proroguing sessions, dissolving the Lok Sabha, addressing both Houses (Article 87), and giving assent to bills (Article 111) — without which a bill cannot become law.

The trap is equating 'Parliament' with just the two elected Houses, which is how the word is used casually in everyday speech and media. The Constitution's technical definition (Article 79) always includes the President.

• Article 79: Parliament = the President + the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) + the House of the People (Lok Sabha)
• Article 59(1): the President is NOT a member of either House of Parliament
• The President summons, prorogues, and can dissolve the Lok Sabha, and gives assent to bills passed by both Houses
• The Prime Minister is not a constitutionally named constituent of 'Parliament' under Article 79

• Treating 'Parliament' as only the two Houses and forgetting the President's constitutional role
• Confusing the Prime Minister's membership of one House with being a constituent of 'Parliament' itself

MPPSC/UPSC test the precise Article 79 definition — expect direct 'Parliament consists of' questions and the companion Article 59 fact that the President is not a House member.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under Article 59(1) of the Constitution, the President of India:

  • (a)Must be a member of the Lok Sabha
  • (b)Must be a member of the Rajya Sabha
  • (c)Shall not be a member of either House of Parliament
  • (d)May choose to sit in either House

  Answer(c) Shall not be a member of either House of Parliament.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  A bill passed by both Houses of Parliament becomes law only after:

  • (a)The Prime Minister signs it
  • (b)The Speaker of the Lok Sabha certifies it
  • (c)The President gives assent under Article 111
  • (d)The Chief Justice of India approves it

  Answer(c) The President gives assent under Article 111 — underscoring the President's constitutional place within Parliament.