With reference to 'Vice-President of India', which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. The Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. 2. Vice-President is a member of the Rajya Sabha. Select the correct answer from the code given below : Code :
- (a)Both 1 and 2
- (b)Only 2
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2
- (d)Only 1
Correct — D, Only 1. Statement 1 is right, and the Constitution says it in so many words: Article 64 provides that 'The Vice-President shall be ex officio Chairman of the Council of States' — the Rajya Sabha. Statement 2 is wrong, and that inversion is the whole point of the question: the Vice-President presides over the Rajya Sabha without ever being a member of it. Article 66(2) makes this explicit — if a sitting member of either House of Parliament, or of a State legislature, is elected Vice-President, he is deemed to have vacated that seat on the day he enters upon his office. Because he is not a member, the Chairman has no ordinary vote in the House; under Article 100(1) he votes only to break a tie. Contrast the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who is and remains a member of the House he presides over, and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 89), who is elected by the House from among its own members. Only statement 1 stands, so the answer is (d). Exam-date note: the office was very much in the news in this cycle — Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on 21 July 2025 and C. P. Radhakrishnan took office as the 15th Vice-President on 12 September 2025, a month before this paper was written on 12 October 2025.
- (a)Both 1 and 2 — This accepts statement 2, which is false. The Vice-President is the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha but not a member of it — Article 66(2) requires anyone who already holds a seat in Parliament or a State legislature to give it up on becoming Vice-President. Presiding over a House and belonging to it are two different things.
- (b)Only 2 — This is the exact reverse of the truth. It rejects the one statement that is textually correct (Article 64 makes the Vice-President ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) and accepts the one that is false (membership of the House).
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2 — Statement 1 is a direct restatement of Article 64, so at least one statement is correct. A candidate reaches this option by over-correcting — realising that the Vice-President is not a member of the Rajya Sabha and then wrongly assuming his chairmanship must also be a myth.
The Vice-President of India holds two distinct offices at once. Article 63 creates the post itself, and Article 64 attaches to it the ex-officio chairmanship of the Rajya Sabha — so the second-highest constitutional functionary in the country spends his working day as the presiding officer of the Upper House. Crucially, that chairmanship is held from outside the House: the Vice-President is not a member of the Rajya Sabha, and Article 66(2) forces him to surrender any seat he already holds in Parliament or a State legislature. This is what distinguishes him from the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who presides over a House of which he remains a member.
UPPSC likes two-statement questions where the first statement is textbook-true and the second quietly slides one word out of place — here 'Chairman of' becomes 'member of'. The reasoning shortcut is to ask what the officer would have to give up. If the Vice-President were a member of the Rajya Sabha, he would have to be elected or nominated to it, would have a constituency-style term, and would carry a vote — none of which is true. In fact the giveaway is his vote: as Chairman he can only exercise a casting vote when the House is tied (Article 100(1)), precisely the arrangement the Constitution uses for a presiding officer who is not a member.
- Article 63 creates the office of Vice-President; Article 64 makes him ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and bars him from holding any other office of profit
- Article 66(2): a sitting member of either House of Parliament or of a State legislature who is elected Vice-President is deemed to have vacated that seat on the day he enters office — he presides over the Rajya Sabha as a non-member
- As a non-member, the Chairman has no ordinary vote; Article 100(1) gives him only a casting vote in the event of a tie
- Article 66(1): the Vice-President is elected by an electoral college of the elected AND nominated members of both Houses of Parliament only — State legislatures take no part, unlike the presidential election — by proportional representation through the single transferable vote, by secret ballot
- Article 67(b): he may be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all its then members, agreed to by the Lok Sabha, after 14 days' notice — the Constitution never uses the word 'impeachment' for the Vice-President
- Article 89: the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, unlike the Chairman, IS chosen by the House from among its own members
- Term of office: five years, renewable; when the Vice-President acts as President under Article 65 he does not perform the duties of Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
- Assuming that because he presides over the Rajya Sabha, the Vice-President must belong to it — the Constitution deliberately keeps the Chairman outside the House
- Carrying the Lok Sabha model across: the Speaker IS a member of his House, and so is the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha; only the Chairman is not
- Mixing up the two electoral colleges — State MLAs vote for the President but not for the Vice-President, while nominated MPs vote for the Vice-President but not for the President
UPPSC keeps to the plain constitutional text — 'is the Vice-President a member of the Rajya Sabha', 'which Article deals with his removal' — while UPSC prefers the comparative edge: the Chairman versus the Deputy Chairman, or which set of members votes in which election.
Consider the following statements: 1. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha are not the members of that House. 2. While the nominated members of the two Houses of the Parliament have no voting right in the presidential election, they have the right to vote in the election of the Vice President. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(b) 2 only
Almost the same test, from the other side. That question's first statement claims that neither the Chairman nor the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is a member of the House, and it is wrong precisely because the Deputy Chairman IS a member — while the Chairman (the Vice-President) is not. Read together, the two questions fix the distinction this UPPSC item turns on.
The resolution for removing the Vice-President of India can be moved in the
- (a) Lok Sabha alone
- (b) Either House of Parliament
- (c) Joint Sitting of Parliament
- (d) Rajya Sabha alone
Answer(d) Rajya Sabha alone
The same office and the same House. The Vice-President can be removed only by a resolution initiated in the Rajya Sabha — the body he chairs — which is another consequence of the Article 64 and 67 scheme tested here.
With reference of the election of the Vice – President of India, which is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, which of the following statement/s is/are correct? (1) The acts done by him as Vice – President before such declaration are considered valid. (2) The acts done by him as Vice – President on the day of such declaration are not considered valid. Select the correct answer from the code given below - Code -
- (a) Neither 1 nor 2
- (b) Only 1
- (c) Only 2
- (d) Both 1 and 2
Answer(b) Only 1
UPPSC returning to the Vice-President's office two cycles earlier, again through the constitutional text rather than personalities — there Article 71(2) on a void election, here Articles 64 and 66(2) on chairmanship and membership.
Match List - I with List - II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists : List - I (Article) A. Article 61 B. Article 67(b) C. Article 94 D. Article 90 List - II (Provision) 1. Removal of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha 2. Impeachment of President 3. Removal of Vice-President 4. Removal of Speaker Codes : A B C D
- (a) 2 4 3 1
- (b) 3 2 4 1
- (c) 2 3 4 1
- (d) 4 1 3 2
Answer(c) 2 3 4 1
Article 67(b) — removal of the Vice-President — sits in that match-list alongside Article 90 on the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. It is the same cluster of provisions: who presides over the Upper House, and on what terms.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who among the following participate in the election of the Vice-President of India?
- (a)Elected members of both Houses of Parliament only
- (b)Elected and nominated members of both Houses of Parliament
- (c)Elected members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State Legislative Assemblies
- (d)Members of the Rajya Sabha only
Answer(b) Elected and nominated members of both Houses of Parliament — unlike the presidential election, State legislatures take no part, and nominated MPs do vote.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Consider the following statements about the presiding officers of Parliament: 1. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is elected by the House from among its own members. 2. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha has a vote in the ordinary proceedings of the House. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a)Only 1
- (b)Only 2
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(a) Only 1 — the Deputy Chairman is a member of the House, but the Chairman, being a non-member, has only a casting vote under Article 100(1).