Gujarat Board GSEB Solutions Class 8 Social Science Chapter 8 Role of Parliament in a Democratic Country Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.

Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 8 Social Science Chapter 8 Role of Parliament in a Democratic Country

GSEB Class 8 Social Science Role of Parliament in a Democratic Country Textbook Questions and Answers

Answer the following questions:

Question 1.
What do you mean by democracy ? What is its main aim ?
Answer:
Democracy is Government of the people, for the people and by the people. In a democracy, general elections are held every five years in which people cast a vote to elect their leaders. In a democracy, supreme power is vested in the people and is exercised by them or by their elected leaders. These leaders form the government. In a democracy, the government has to give clarifications and provide reasons for the decisions taken.
A democratic government is for the people. The welfare of the people is the main aim of democracy.

Question 2.
Which is the lower house of the Parliament ?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Parliament.

Question 3.
Mention the main functions of the Parliament.
Answer:
The main functions of the Parliament:

• When the Parliament is in session, the time for the Question Hour is decided in the beginning itself.
• During Question Hour, Members of the Parliament ask questions through which they gain information about the working of the government. Thus, the Parliament controls the Executive.
• Members draw attention to loopholes in government functioning as well as to people’s opinions with the help of these questions.
• The Parliament makes new laws and makes amendments in old laws.

Question 4.
What is the main responsibility of a Member of Parliament ?
Answer:
The main responsibility of every Member of Parliament is to ask questions to the government (Cabinet) about its administrative functions.

Question 5.
What does the government come to know during the Question Hour in the Parliament?
Answer:
During the Question Hour, the Members of Parliament ask questions through which they gain information about the working of the government. Thus, the Parliament controls the Executive. The members draw attention to loopholes in government functioning as well as to people’s opinions with the help of these questions. It is an important responsibility of the members to question the government.

Question 6.
How does the opposition parly play an important role in a democracy?
Answer:
In a democracy the opposition party plays a major role to ensure effective administration by highlighting any loopholes in the policies / programmes of the government.

Question 7.
When does a bill become a Law?
Answer:
A bill that is passed by both the houses becomes a law only after the President signs it.

Fill in the blanks with proper words in the following statements:

1. Generally, the elections of the Lok Sabha are held every ………………… years.
Answer:
five

2. The Prime Minister is appointed by ……………….. .
Answer:
the President

3. ……………………. works as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Answer:
The Vice-President

If you have any problems related to water, roads, electricity, etc. in your village, locality or taluka, then whom would you approach the matter and what would be your complaint?
Answer:
At first, we will contact the government executive of our Taluka and Taluka Development Officer if it is a . matter of water, electricity or road of our village, area and taluka. After that we will contact our District Collector and District Development Officer. Along with this, we will put the matter up in front of the member of the Legislative Assembly of our Taluka area. Finally, we will present it to the Member of Parliament of our constituency.

Activities
(1) Organize election for the School Panchayat. Make various departments and assign responsibilities.
1. Who won the School Panchayat election ? Make a list based on the votes received by the candidates.
2. What would you do to be elected the President of the school ? How would you select the prefects of various committees to help in the administration of the school?
3. Prepare a list of duties to be assigned to the prefects.
4. What are the criteria to be considered while electing candidates ? Write any three.
(2) Make a list of the functions of the Parliament by collecting news related to the Parliament.
(3) Make a list of the questions asked in the sessions of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha by watching the live telecast of its proceedings.
(4) Which arrangement will you do to solve any one problem of your area? Prepare a project for the same.

GSEB Class 8 Social Science Role of Parliament in a Democratic Country Intext Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Would you prefer direct selection? Justify your answer.
Answer:
I would not prefer direct selection because this is not democracy. In democracy everyone has a right to contest the election. Each student has a right for candidature for being class monitor. If there is direct selection, the student who wants to be a monitor cannot get a chance.

Question 2.
What is the name of the Member of Parliament of your constituency?
Answer:
As an answer, students should write the name of the Member of Parliament of their constituency.

Question 3.
What is the name of your Parliamentary Constituency ?
Answer:
As an answer, students should write the name of their Parliamentary Constituency.

Question 4.
Who presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha? Is there a need of a person to regulate and control the sessions? Why?
Answer:
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha.
Yes, there is a need of such a person to manage each session and maintain discipline during discussions and procedure. Thus dignity, discipline, peace and neutrality of the house are maintained.

Question 5.
To whom are the questions addressed ?
Answer:
The questions are addressed to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Question 6.
Questions are asked in which language ?
Answer:
Members ask questions in their own languages in Lok Sabha.

Question 7.
What is the facility provided to a Member of Parliament who does not understand the language of conversation in the session?
Answer:
The speeches in Parliament are generally held in Hindi and English languages. Moreover, five languages of North India and four languages of South India have been accepted for speeches. There is an arrangement for listening to each speech held in Hindi and English by translating them into any one of the nine languages.

Question 8.
What do you expect from the Member of Parliament of your area?
Answer:
My expectations from the Member of Parliament Of my area are as under :

• He should draw government’s attention to questions related to agriculture, irrigation, electricity, education, health, roads, etc. of my area.
• He should get assurance from the minister of the government to address each question and to remove all difficulties.
• He must keep a watch on whether the assurances given by the Ministers have been acted upon or not.

Question 9.
Which are the two houses of the Parliament ?
Answer:
The two houses of the Parliament are : the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Question 10.
Mention the functions of the Lok Sabha.
Answer:
The functions of the Lok Sabha are :

• The Lok Sabha makes laws on the subjects included in the Union and Concurrent Lists.
• It makes necessary changes in present laws and cancels unnecessary laws.
• The power of the Lok Sabha is greater than the Rajya Sabha in the matter of financial bill including budget.
• The members of the Lok Sabha get necessary information related to state administration by asking1 questions to the Ministers. They observe their work minutely and control them.
• The Lok Sabha discusses various questions about the country and draws government’s attention to those questions.
• It gets assurance from the Ministers to solve the problems of the people. The Ministers have to fulfill all assurances given in the Lok Sabha.
• The Central cabinet is responsible to the Lok Sabha. If the members of the Lok Sabha are not satisfied with the duties of the Cabinet, they pass the petition of* no-confidence motion against the Cabinet and force it to resign.
• The government cannot spend even a rupee without the permission of the Lok Sabha neither can it enforce new taxes.

Question 11.
What are the functions and powers of the Prime Minister?
Answer:
(1) The Prime Minister forms a cabinet on the invitation of the President. He hands over one or more departments to each minister. He also takes the responsibility of one or more departments.

(2) He has the right to dismiss ministers, to change their departments and to reconstruct the whole cabinet.

(3) The Prime Minister is the head of the executive of our country. He forms the internal and the foreign policies. He gives guidance to each minister working according to that policy.

(4) The Prime Minister is the Chairman during the sessions of the cabinet. He takes proper decisions regarding important matters after detailed discussions with his Council of Ministers.

(5) He declares policies of the government in the Lok Sabha and gives clarification about them.

(6) The Prime Minister is like a link between the Cabinet and the President. The Prime Minister makes the President familiar about various resolutions about the entire situation of the country and about the whole administration of the Central Government which take place during sessions of the Cabinet.

Question 12.
Why is the Rajya Sabha never dissolved completely ?
Answer:
In the Rajya Sabha, (frac { 1 }{ 3 }) of the members retire after every two years and the same number of members are inducted. Thus, the Rajya Sabha is never dissolved completely and so the Rajya Sabha is known as the permanent house.

Question 13.
If you were a Member of the Parliament, what would you do for the people?
Answer:
As a Member of Parliament, I would put forward people’s questions, their problems and difficulties in the Parliament and draw attention towards them. I would get assurance from the ministers for the solution to each question and difficulty of people. I would keep my eye on whether all ministers do their work according to the assurance they have given or not.

Question 14.
If you were the Prime Minister, what would you do for the welfare of people?
Answer:
As a Prime Minister :

• I would give first preference to agriculture and cottage industry problems. I would increase facilities of electricity and irrigation for peasants so that they can take three crops every year. I would ensure that peasants get healthy seeds for sowing, good fertilizers, insecticides, medicines and instruments for agriculture at a subsidized rate.
• I would increase plans for the development of cottage industry. To encourage these industries, I would arrange financial loans and increase the proportion of subsidy which is given to them.
• I would try to root out illiteracy from the country.
• I would plan that people of the poor and the backward classes under E.G.S. (Employment Guarantee Scheme) get wages for the whole year.
• I would pass laws eradicating corruption and bribery from the country and I would see that these laws are strictly implemented.
• I would ensure that people of our country get proper and sufficient aid at times of natural calamities like cyclones, floods, famines, earthquakes, etc.
• I would arrange that each village gets facilities like electricity, health, primary education, pure drinking water, etc.

GSEB Class 8 Social Science Role of Parliament in a Democratic Country Additional Important Questions and Answers

Choose the correct alternative from those given below each question:

Question 1.
What is the main characteristic of a democracy?
A. Sole power rests with the army
B. Sole power rests with one individual
C. Sole power rests with the people
D. Sole power rests with the President
Answer:
C. Sole power rests with the people

Question 2.
Which governance policy has India accepted ?
A. Communism
B. Democracy
C. Feudalism
D. Dictatorship
Answer:
B. Democracy

Question 3.
Which is the upper house of the Parliament ?
A. Legislative Assembly
B. Vidhan Parishad
C. Lok Sabha
D. Rajya Sabha
Answer:
D. Rajya Sabha

Question 4.
Who is the leader of the ruling parly in the Lok Sabha ?
A. Prime Minister
B. Vice-President
C. President
D. Speaker
Answer:
A. Prime Minister

Question 5.
How many members are elected to the Rajya Sabha ?
A. 250
B. 238
C. 542
D. 262
Answer:
B. 238

Question 6.
How many members does the President appoint in the Rajya Sabha ?
A. 14
B. 10
C. 12
D. 25
Answer:
C. 12

Question 7.
How many members retire after every two years from the Rajya Sabha?
A. (frac { 1 }{ 3 })
B. (frac { 1 }{ 2 })
C. (frac { 1 }{ 4 })
D. (frac { 1 }{ 10 })
Answer:
A. (frac { 1 }{ 3 })

Question 8.
Who becomes the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha ?
A. President
B. Speaker
C. Prime Minister
D. Vice-President
Answer:
D. Vice-President

Question 9.
What is decided in the beginning of every session of the Parliament?
A. Prayer Hour
B. Attendance Hour
C. Meeting Hour
D. Question Hour
Answer:
D. Question Hour

Question 10.
Who presides over the Lok Sabha?
A. Prime Minister
B. President
C. Speaker
D. Secretary of Parliament
Answer:
C. Speaker

Fill in the blanks with proper words in the following statements:

1. In democracy, the people themselves are ………………. .
Answer:
the creator of their destiny

2. In Gujarati, Democracy is known as ………………… .
Answer:
Lokshahi (Democracy)

3. India has adopted the ‘ ……………….. ’ system of Democracy.
Answer:
Parliamentary

4. The Lok Sabha is known as the ‘ ………………… House’ of Parliament.
Answer:
Lower

5. The Rajya Sabha is known as the ‘ ………………….. House’ of Parliament.
Answer:
Upper

6. A candidate elected to the Lok Sabha is called …………………… .
Answer:
Member of Parliament

7. There are …………. members in the Rajya Sabha.
Answer:
250

8. Twelve members are nominated by ………………… in the Rajya Sabha.
Answer:
the President

9. The Rajya Sabha has the representative of every ……………….. of our country.
Answer:
states

10. The form of governance where a king/queen has sole power is known as …………………. .
Answer:
Monarchy

11. In central government, the ………………. works to make laws.
Answer:
Parliament

12. The person who presides over the sessions in the Lok Sabha is known as the …………………. .
Answer:
Speaker

State whether the following statements are true or false:

1. In a Democratic government, the leader of the party that has clear majority is appointed as the Prime Minister.
Answer:
True

2. In India, the Judiciary is the supreme organisation.
Answer:
False

3. The Lok Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament.
Answer:
False

4. Each constituency is represented by one elected member in the Parliament.
Answer:
True

5. The Prime Minister elects ministers from the members of his party.
Answer:
True

6. The Lok Sabha is a permanent house.
Answer:
False

7. The President acts as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Answer:
False

8. The President is called a part of the Parliament.
Answer:
True

Match the following pairs:

Answer:
(1 – 5), (2 – 6), (3 – 1), (4 – 3), (5 – 2).

Answer the following questions in one or two sentences:

Question 1.
What does the Parliament comprise of ?
Answer:
The Parliament comprises of the President, the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the Vice-President.

Question 2.
How many houses does the Parliament of India have ? Which are they ?
Answer:
The Parliament of India consists of two houses. The lower house of the Parliament is known as the ‘Lok Sabha’ and the upper house is known as the ‘Rajya Sabha’.

Question 3.
Which is the upper house of the Parliament ?
Answer:
The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament.

Question 4.
Why does the Parliament have complete and important powers in Democracy?
Answer:
The Parliament has complete and important powers in Democracy because it represents the people of the country. The Members of Parliament are representatives of the people who are elected by the people.

Question 5.
What is called Constituency ?
Answer:
For the Lok Sabha elections, the whole country is divided into various sections according to geography and population to facilitate voting. Each voting section is called a ‘Constituency’.

Question 6.
Whom does the President appoint as the Prime Minister ?
Answer:
After the general elections, the President appoints the leader of that party or a coalition of parties, which has a clear majority in the Parliament as the Prime Minister.

Question 7.
Who elects the members of the Rajya Sabha ?
Answer:
The elected members of the Legislative Assembly of different states elect the members of the Rajya Sabha.

Question 8.
Who becomes the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha?
Answer:
The Vice-President of India becomes the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Question 9.
Which house of Parliament is never dissolved completely ?
Answer:
The upper house (the Rajya Sabha) of Parliament is never dissolved completely.

Question 10.
Give reason : Rajya Sabha is a permanent house.
OR
Rajya Sabha is never dissolved completely.
Answer:
The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house. It is never dissolved completely. This is because (frac { 1 }{ 3 }) of the members retire every two years (after completing their 6-year term) and new members are inducted.

Question 11.
Why is the President called a part of the Parliament ?
Answer:
The President is called a part of the Parliament because he is associated with the procedure of the Parliament. A bill that is passed by both the houses becomes a law only after the President’s signature. The President has the power to decide about the meetings of the Parliament and announce the completion of sessions.

Answer the following questions:
Question 1.
How is the Parliament formed in India ?
Answer:
India has adopted ‘Parliamentary Democracy’. The Parliament is the supreme institution in India. The Parliament of India consists of the President and the two houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha (total members 545) is known as the ‘Lower House’ and the Rajya Sabha (total members 250) is known as the ‘Upper House’. In our system of governance, the Parliament enjoys complete power since it comprises of the elected representatives of the nation.

The Lok Sabha (House of the People) elections are held every 5 years. Each constituency is represented in the Parliament by one elected member. The elected candidate is known as the ‘Member of Parliament’ (M.E). The elected members collectively form the ‘Lok Sabha’.
The elected members of the Legislative Assembly of each state elect the members for the Rajya Sabha. There are 250 members in the Rajya Sabha, out of which 238 are elected and the remaining 12 are nominated by the President of India.

This is how the Parliament which comprises of the Lok Sabha (Lower House) and the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) is formed.

Question 2.
How is the Council of Ministers (Government) of India formed?
Answer:
After the Lok Sabha elections, party-wise list of elected members is made to ascertain which party has a clear majority. The party that forms the government must have a clear majority or form a coalition to gain majority. The leader of such a party is appointed as the Prime Minister by the President. The Prime Minister of India is the head of the ruling party. The Prime Minister forms the council of ministers by selecting members of his party. He hands over one or more departments to each minister. The ministers along with the Prime Minister together take administrative decisions.

Question 3.
How is the Lok Sabha formed ?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha (House of the People) elections are held every 5 years. Each constituency is represented in the Parliament by one elected member. The elected candidate is known as the ‘Member of Parliament’ (M.P). The elected members collectively form the ‘Lok Sabha’.

Question 4.
How is the Rajya Sabha formed ?
Answer:
The elected members of the Legislative Assembly of each state elect the members for the Rajya Sabha. There are 250 members in the Rajya Sabha, out of which 238 are elected and the remaining 12 are nominated by the President of India. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house. It is never dissolved completely. Thus, ^ of the members retire every two years (after completing their 6-year term) and new members are inducted. The Rajya Sabha represents the states of our country. The person who presides over each session is known as the Chairman. The Vice-President of India acts as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.