Which one of the following statement is not correct regarding “No-Confidence Motion” ?

RPSC deleted this question in its final answer key, so no option is marked correct.

The four statements are about the motion through which the Lok Sabha can withdraw its support from the Council of Ministers. Two of them describe procedure and the House; two describe records of such motions, and statement (1) dates its counts to 15 August 2023.

The basis is Article 75(3): the Council of Ministers "shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People". The Constitution itself does not use the words "no-confidence motion"; the procedure is in the Lok Sabha's Rules of Procedure.

Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha governs "a motion expressing want of confidence in the Council of Ministers". The member asks for leave when called by the Speaker, and by 10.00 hours that day gives a written notice of the motion to the Secretary-General.

The Speaker reads the motion to the House. Leave is granted only if at least fifty members rise in support, and the motion is then taken up on a day the Speaker appoints, not more than ten days away.

Counts and rates of such motions are records, not rules. They change with each new motion and have to be read against a dated official record.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  27 No-Confidence Motions, 9 Confidence Motions have been moved till 15th August, 2023. — This statement is a record dated to 15 August 2023, with two separate counts. A no-confidence motion expresses "want of confidence in the Council of Ministers" (Rule 198); a confidence motion asks the House to affirm its confidence.

  Because the two kinds of motion are counted separately, checking a figure like this needs the Lok Sabha's own record as of the stated date.

• (2)
  Lal Bahadur Shastri faced the most No-Confidence Motions per office year. — This statement compares Prime Ministers by motions faced per year in office, not by total motions.

  Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minister from 9 June 1964 to 11 January 1966, about nineteen months. In a per-year rate, a short tenure makes each motion count for more than it would over a long one.

• (3)
  The member who wants to move No-Confidence Motion give notice to the speaker of the Lok Sabha in writing. — This statement is about how notice is given. Rule 198(1) has two steps: the member asks for leave when called by the Speaker, and by 10.00 hours that day gives a written notice to the Secretary-General.

  Under the proviso to the rule, a notice received after 10.00 hours is treated as received at 10.00 hours on the next day the House sits.

• (4)
  No-Confidence Motion can be moved only in Lok Sabha. — This statement concerns which House can use the motion. Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the House of the People, and Rule 198 is a rule of the Lok Sabha.

  The Council of States is not named in Article 75(3). In the States, Article 164(2) makes the Council of Ministers responsible to the Legislative Assembly.

Parliamentary government rests on collective responsibility. Article 75(3) makes the Union Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the House of the People, and Article 164(2) makes a State's Council of Ministers collectively responsible to its Legislative Assembly.

A no-confidence motion is how the House tests that responsibility. Under Rule 198 a member seeks leave; if at least fifty members rise in support, the Speaker fixes a day within ten days and allots time for the debate.

At the appointed hour on the last allotted day, the Speaker puts the question to decide the motion. A confidence motion runs the other way: the House is asked to express confidence in the government.

State Assemblies use the same devices. The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's record lists five confidence motions: two in 1990 and one each in 1993, 2009 and 2020.

Key facts

• Article 75(3): the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People.
• Rule 198, Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure: written notice of a no-confidence motion goes to the Secretary-General by 10.00 hours on the day leave is sought.
• Leave to move the motion needs at least fifty members to rise in support; the motion is taken up within ten days.
• Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minister of India from 9 June 1964 to 11 January 1966.
• The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly records five confidence motions: two in 1990, and one each in 1993, 2009 and 2020.

Common traps

• Sending the notice to the wrong officer. Rule 198 names the Secretary-General for the written notice; the Speaker calls the member and reads the motion to the House.
• Treating the Rajya Sabha as a House the government answers to. Article 75(3) names only the House of the People.
• Confusing a total with a rate. "Per office year" divides the motions a Prime Minister faced by the years in office.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2016 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, leave to move a motion of no-confidence in the Council of Ministers is granted when at least how many members rise in its support?

  • (a)20
  • (b)50
  • (c)100
  • (d)One-tenth of the total number of members of the House
  Answer(2) — Rule 198(2) requires not less than fifty members to rise. 20 (1) and 100 (3) are not figures in the rule. One-tenth of the total number of members (4) is the quorum of a House under Article 100(3), not the support needed for leave.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's record, how many confidence motions had been moved in the Assembly by 1 October 2023?

  • (a)Three
  • (b)Four
  • (c)Five
  • (d)Six
  Answer(3) — the record lists five: 23 March 1990, 8 November 1990, 31 December 1993, 3 January 2009 and 14 August 2020. Four (2) was the count before the 2020 motion. Three (1) leaves out two listed motions, and six (4) is more than the record lists.