________ was the Governor of Madhya Pradesh when President's rule was imposed in Madhya Pradesh between 30.04.1977 to 23.06.1977.
- (a)Shri Mohammad Shafi Qureshi
- (b)Shri Satya Narayan Sinha
- (c)Shri Bhai Mahavir
- (d)Shri B.D. Sharma
Correct — B, Shri Satya Narayan Sinha. He was Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 8 March 1971 to 13 October 1977, so the whole of the 1977 President's rule (30 April - 23 June 1977) fell inside his term. That spell followed the Janata Party's Lok Sabha sweep of 1977: the Congress government of Shyama Charan Shukla was dismissed on 30 April 1977, the State was administered under Article 356, and Kailash Chandra Joshi was sworn in on 24 June 1977 as Madhya Pradesh's first non-Congress Chief Minister. Sinha had been a member of the Constituent Assembly and a long-serving Union Minister — he was Leader of the Lok Sabha and held the Information and Broadcasting and the Health portfolios — before coming to Raj Bhavan, Bhopal in 1971.
- (a)Shri Mohammad Shafi Qureshi — He was Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 24 June 1993 to 21 April 1998 — sixteen years after this episode.
- (c)Shri Bhai Mahavir — Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 22 April 1998 to 7 May 2003, at the far end of the timeline from 1977.
- (d)Shri B.D. Sharma — Bhagwat Dayal Sharma — the first Chief Minister of Haryana — was appointed Governor of Odisha in September 1977, months after this episode, and came to Madhya Pradesh only on 30 April 1980, holding the office in spells until 1984.
Article 356 lets the President, acting on a report from the Governor or otherwise, take over the functions of a State government when he is satisfied that the State's administration cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. The Governor is not replaced — he stays in office and runs the State as the President's agent, while the State legislature's powers are exercised by or under the authority of Parliament. The proclamation must be approved by both Houses within two months, and thereafter runs in six-month blocks up to a maximum of three years, with the extra conditions the 44th Amendment attached to any extension beyond one year.
The 1977 dismissal was political rather than administrative. After the Janata Party's landslide in the March 1977 Lok Sabha election, Congress governments in several States — Madhya Pradesh among them — were dismissed on the argument that they had lost the people's mandate; the Congress returned the favour after it came back to power in 1980. That pattern is exactly what the Supreme Court curbed in S. R. Bommai (1994), by making a proclamation justiciable and treating the floor of the House as the place to test a majority.
- Satya Narayan Sinha was Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 8 March 1971 to 13 October 1977 — the State's fourth Governor.
- President's rule ran from 30 April to 23 June 1977 after the dismissal of Shyama Charan Shukla's Congress government; Kailash Chandra Joshi took charge on 24 June 1977 as the State's first non-Congress Chief Minister.
- Madhya Pradesh has been under President's rule three times — in 1977, 1980 and 1992.
- During President's rule the Governor stays in office and administers the State on the President's behalf; the State legislature's powers are exercised by or under the authority of Parliament.
- Assuming the Governor is removed when President's rule is imposed — he stays and administers the State
- Assuming the Assembly is automatically dissolved — it is usually kept in suspended animation; dissolution is a separate decision
- Mixing up the 1977 spell with the later ones of 1980 and 1992
MPPSC turns this into State-specific recall — who was Governor or Chief Minister at a given date, how many times President's rule has been imposed in MP. UPSC stays with the mechanics of Article 356: whose report, whose approval, how long, and what happens to the legislature.
Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State? 1. Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President’s rule 2. Appointing the Ministers 3. Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India 4. Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1 and 3 only
- (c) 2, 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer(b) 1 and 3 only
The constitutional half of this question — the Governor's own discretionary power to report to the President is what sets Article 356 in motion.
How many times has the President's Rule been imposed in Madhya Pradesh?
- (a) One
- (b) Two
- (c) Three
- (d) Four
Answer(c) Three
Same topic from the counting angle — MP's three spells of President's rule, of which 1977 is the first.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A Proclamation issued under Article 356 must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within:
- (a)One month
- (b)Two months
- (c)Three months
- (d)Six months
Answer(b) Two months — otherwise it ceases to operate.
- practice — not a real PYQ
While a Proclamation under Article 356 is in force, the legislative powers of the State Legislature are exercised by:
- (a)the Governor alone
- (b)Parliament, or an authority under Parliament's authorisation
- (c)the Council of Ministers of the State
- (d)the High Court of the State
Answer(b) Parliament, or an authority under its authorisation — Article 356(1)(b).