With reference to the posts in the Secretariat of the Parliament, which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
(1) Common posts may be created for the Secretariat of each House of Parliament.
(2

Question

With reference to the posts in the Secretariat of the Parliament, which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
(1) Common posts may be created for the Secretariat of each House of Parliament.
(2) Parliament has the right to regulate the service conditions of the Secretariat staff of either House of it.
Select the correct answer from the code given below:

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, Both 1 and 2. Article 98 of the Constitution deals with the Secretariat of Parliament. It provides that each House shall have a separate secretarial staff, but its proviso expressly states that nothing prevents the creation of posts COMMON to both Houses — so statement 1 is correct. Article 98(2) empowers Parliament to regulate by law the recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretarial staff of either House — so statement 2 is also correct. Hence both statements are true.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) This drops statement 1, but statement 1 is also correct — the proviso to Article 98 permits creation of posts common to both Houses of Parliament.  (b) Both statements reflect Article 98, so it is wrong to reject both.  (c) This drops statement 2, but statement 2 is also correct — Article 98(2) lets Parliament regulate, by law, the recruitment and service conditions of the secretarial staff.

Concept: The Secretariat of Parliament is the permanent administrative machinery that services the two Houses. Article 98 gives each House (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) a separate secretarial staff under a Secretary-General, while allowing posts common to both Houses. Parliament may, by law, regulate the recruitment and conditions of service of this staff; until it does, the President (after consulting the Presiding Officer) may make rules.

State PCS 2023 Q106 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q106 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer