MPPSC 2026 Prelims Q19: Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding

Q: What is the answer to MPPSC 2026 Prelims Q19?

D. Correct — D, 'The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly prorogues its sitting.' This is the false statement, and so the answer to an 'incorrect' question. Prorogation — the formal ending of a session — is done by the Governor under Article 174(2)(a), which also empowers him to dissolve the Legislative Assembly. The Speaker's powers stop at adjournment: he can adjourn a sitting, or adjourn the House sine die, but he cannot prorogue it. Summoning and prorogation are Governor's acts; adjournment is the Speaker's.

MPPSC 2026 Prelims Paper-I · Question 19 of 100

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official MPPSC answer key.

Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding the sessions of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly?

(a)There must be minimum two sittings of the Legislative Assembly in a calendar year.
(b)There must not be a gap of more than six months between two sittings.
(c)The Governor summons the sitting of the Legislative Assembly.
(d)The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly prorogues its sitting.

Answer

Why

Correct — D, 'The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly prorogues its sitting.' This is the false statement, and so the answer to an 'incorrect' question. Prorogation — the formal ending of a session — is done by the Governor under Article 174(2)(a), which also empowers him to dissolve the Legislative Assembly. The Speaker's powers stop at adjournment: he can adjourn a sitting, or adjourn the House sine die, but he cannot prorogue it. Summoning and prorogation are Governor's acts; adjournment is the Speaker's.

Why the others are wrong

(a)There must be minimum two sittings of the Legislative Assembly in a calendar year. — This is TRUE, so it cannot be the answer. It is the practical consequence of the six-month rule in Article 174(1) — since no more than six months may pass between sessions, the House must meet at least twice a year.
(b)There must not be a gap of more than six months between two sittings. — This is TRUE, so it cannot be the answer. Article 174(1) expressly requires that six months shall not intervene between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next.
(c)The Governor summons the sitting of the Legislative Assembly. — This is TRUE, so it cannot be the answer. Article 174(1) empowers the Governor to summon the House to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit, subject to the six-month limit.

Concept

Article 174 governs the calendar of a State legislature. Clause (1) gives the Governor the power to summon the House and imposes the six-month ceiling between sessions; clause (2) gives him the power to prorogue the House and to dissolve the Legislative Assembly. Nothing in the Constitution fixes a minimum number of sitting days — only the maximum interval. The Speaker, by contrast, is the presiding officer inside the session: he conducts the sittings, decides whether a Bill is a Money Bill under Article 199(3), and adjourns the House, including sine die.

The trap is a swap of one word — 'prorogues' instead of 'adjourns'. Learn the three verbs as a hierarchy: adjournment (Speaker, ends a sitting), prorogation (Governor, ends a session), dissolution (Governor, ends the life of the House). Only the first belongs to the Speaker. The same distinction is examined at the Union level with the President and the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Key facts

Article 174(1) — the Governor summons the House; not more than six months may intervene between two sessions
Article 174(2) — the Governor may prorogue the House and dissolve the Legislative Assembly
The six-month rule implies a minimum of two sessions a year; the Constitution prescribes no minimum number of sitting days
The Speaker adjourns a sitting or adjourns the House sine die, but cannot prorogue it
Article 176 — the Governor addresses the House at the first session after each general election and at the first session of each year
Madhya Pradesh has a unicameral legislature — a 230-member Vidhan Sabha, with no Legislative Council

Study next

Article 174, 175 and 176: summoning, prorogation, the Governor's right to address and send messagesAdjournment, adjournment sine die, prorogation and dissolution — effects on pending business and noticesPowers and position of the Speaker of a State Legislative Assembly, including Article 199(3) on Money BillsArticle 172: duration of the State Legislature and its extension during a Proclamation of EmergencyUnion parallel: Article 85 and the President's power to summon, prorogue and dissolve the Lok Sabha

Common traps

Assigning prorogation to the Speaker because he presides over the House — prorogation belongs to the Governor
Reading the six-month rule as 'the House must sit for six months' — it caps the gap between sessions, nothing more
Assuming the Constitution fixes a minimum number of sitting days for a legislature — it does not

MPPSC likes 'which statement about the sessions of the MP Vidhan Sabha is incorrect', and the planted error is almost always the summon/prorogue/dissolve versus adjourn split. Check who performs the verb before checking the number.

Related PYQs

UPSC_2004_GS1_Q82004Open & attempt →

Consider the following statements: 1. The Speaker of Lok Sabha has the power to adjourn the House sine die but, on prorogation, it is only the President who can summon the House. 2. Unless sooner dissolved or there is an extension of the term, there is an automatic dissolution of the Lok Sabha by efflux of time, at the end of the period of five years, even if no formal order of dissolution is issued by the President. 3. The Speaker of Lok Sabha continues in office even after the dissolution of the House and until immediately before the first meeting of the House. Which of these statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3

The identical concept at the Union level — its statement 1 draws exactly the line MPPSC tests here: the Speaker may adjourn (even sine die), but summoning after prorogation is the head of the executive's act.

UPSC_2020_GS1_Q202020Open & attempt →

Consider the following statements : 1. The President of India can summon a session of the Parliament at such place as he/she thinks fit. 2. The Constitution of India provides for three sessions of the Parliament in a year, but it is not mandatory to conduct all three sessions. 3. There is no minimum number of days that the Parliament is required to meet in a year. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 2 and 3 only

Answer(c) 1 and 3 only

Same summoning rule (Article 85 mirrors Article 174) and the same point that the Constitution caps the gap between sessions but fixes no minimum number of sitting days.

MPPSC_2023_PRE_PaperI_Q192023Open & attempt →

Who decides whether a bill is a money bill or not in the State?

(a) Chief Minister
(b) Governor
(c) Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha
(d) Law Minister

Answer(c) Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha

The mirror image of this question — MPPSC testing what the Speaker CAN do inside the House (certify a Money Bill under Article 199(3)), where 2026 tests what he cannot do (prorogue a session).

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Constitution of India, who has the power to prorogue a State Legislative Assembly?
- (a)The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
- (b)The Chief Minister
- (c)The Governor of the State
- (d)The President of India
Answer(c) The Governor of the State — Article 174(2)(a), which also gives him the power to dissolve the Assembly.
practice — not a real PYQ
As per Article 174 of the Constitution of India, the maximum interval permitted between the last sitting of one session of a State Legislature and the first sitting of the next is:
- (a)Three months
- (b)Six months
- (c)One year
- (d)No limit is prescribed
Answer(b) Six months — the rule that in practice forces at least two sessions in a year.