Statement I: The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on 9th December, 1946 in New Delhi. Statement II: Jawaharlal Nehru was not invited to the Constituent Assembly. Which of the following options is correct?
- (a)Both Statement I and Statement II are true.
- (b)Both Statement I and Statement II are false.
- (c)Statement I is true, but Statement II is false.
- (d)Statement I is false, but Statement II is true.
Correct — C, Statement I is true but Statement II is false. Statement I is a plain date fact: the Constituent Assembly of India met for the first time on 9 December 1946, at 11 a.m., in the Constitution Hall (today the Central Hall) of the Council House in New Delhi, with Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha — the Assembly's oldest member — in the chair as temporary President. Statement II is simply wrong: Jawaharlal Nehru was an elected member of that very Assembly, he was present in the December 1946 sittings, and four days later, on 13 December 1946, he himself moved the Objective Resolution that became the seed of the Preamble. He also chaired the Union Powers Committee and the Union Constitution Committee. The body that stayed away from the first sitting was the Muslim League, which boycotted the Assembly — not Nehru.
- (a)Both Statement I and Statement II are true. — Statement I is indeed true, but Statement II cannot be — Nehru was a member of the Constituent Assembly and moved its most famous early motion, the Objective Resolution, on 13 December 1946. Marking both true means accepting that the Congress's tallest leader was excluded from the body that framed the Constitution.
- (b)Both Statement I and Statement II are false. — Statement I is true. The date and venue are among the most-tested facts in Indian polity: 9 December 1946, Constitution Hall, New Delhi — the sitting at which Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha presided as temporary chairman.
- (d)Statement I is false, but Statement II is true. — This exactly reverses the truth values. It rejects a verified date (9 December 1946) and accepts a fabricated claim (Nehru's exclusion) — the classic 'mirror-image' distractor in Statement I / Statement II questions.
The Constituent Assembly was constituted under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. Its members were not directly elected by the people — provincial legislative assemblies elected them by proportional representation with a single transferable vote, and the princely states sent nominees. The Assembly first met on 9 December 1946, with Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha as temporary President; on 11 December 1946 it elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as its permanent President. The Muslim League boycotted this first sitting, pressing its demand for a separate constituent assembly for Pakistan.
In a Statement I / Statement II question, test each statement independently before looking at the options. Statement I here is a straight recall of a date every polity book carries. Statement II is a 'sounds-plausible-if-you-are-rushed' invention — it takes a real fact (someone stayed away from the Assembly: the Muslim League) and pins it on the wrong actor. When a statement makes a dramatic negative claim about a major leader, treat it as suspect until you can source it.
- The Constituent Assembly was set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946); members from provinces were elected indirectly by the provincial legislative assemblies.
- First sitting: 9 December 1946, Constitution Hall (now Central Hall), New Delhi; Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, the oldest member, presided as temporary President. The Muslim League boycotted it.
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent President of the Assembly on 11 December 1946; H. C. Mukherjee served as its Vice-President.
- Jawaharlal Nehru moved the Objective Resolution on 13 December 1946; it was adopted on 22 January 1947 and later shaped the Preamble.
- Nehru chaired key Assembly committees, including the Union Powers Committee and the Union Constitution Committee.
- Confusing the Muslim League's boycott with an individual leader being 'not invited'
- Mixing up Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha (temporary President, 9 December 1946) with Dr. Rajendra Prasad (permanent President, elected 11 December 1946)
- Assuming the Assembly's members were directly elected by universal adult franchise — they were elected by provincial legislatures
MPPSC increasingly uses the Statement I / Statement II wrapper on Constituent Assembly facts, pairing one true date with one invented claim. UPSC asks the same syllabus node as 'who presided', 'under which plan was it formed', or as a two-statement question with an 'is Statement-II the correct explanation of Statement-I' twist.
Who was the Provisional President of the Constituent Assembly before Dr. Rajendra Prasad took over?
- (a) C. Rajagopalachari
- (b) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
- (c) T. T. Krishnamachari
- (d) Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha
Answer(d) Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha
The same first sitting of 9 December 1946 seen from the chair — who presided that day before Rajendra Prasad was elected on 11 December.
Consider the following statements about Jawaharlal Nehru: I. He was the President of the Congress Party in 1947. II. He presided over the Constituent Assembly. III. He formed the first Congress Ministry in United Province before India’s independence. Of these statements
- (a) I, II and III are correct
- (b) I and III are correct
- (c) I and II are correct
- (d) None is correct
Answer(d) None is correct
The same Nehru-and-the-Constituent-Assembly confusion from the opposite direction: UPSC's false statement over-states his role (he 'presided'), MPPSC's false statement erases it (he was 'not invited'). The truth sits between — a member who moved the Objective Resolution but never presided.
When did Nehru introduce the “Objectives Resolution” in the Constituent Assembly ?
- (a) 9 December 1946
- (b) 28 April 1947
- (c) 22 January 1947
- (d) 13 December 1946
Answer(d) 13 December 1946
MPPSC's own earlier question is the direct refutation of Statement II here — Nehru was not merely present in the Assembly, he moved its opening resolution four days after the first sitting.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who presided over the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly of India on 9 December 1946?
- (a)Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- (b)Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha
- (c)Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
- (d)H. C. Mukherjee
Answer(b) Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha — as the oldest member he was made temporary President; Dr. Rajendra Prasad became permanent President on 11 December 1946.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Objective Resolution, which later shaped the Preamble of the Constitution, was moved in the Constituent Assembly by:
- (a)Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
- (b)Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- (c)Jawaharlal Nehru
- (d)Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Answer(c) Jawaharlal Nehru — moved on 13 December 1946 and adopted on 22 January 1947.