Answer: (D)

Explanation: The office of ‘whip’ is mentioned neither in the Constitution of India nor in the Rules of the House nor in a Parliamentary Statute. It is based on the conventions of the parliamentary government. Every political party, whether ruling or Opposition has its own whip in the Parliament. He is appointed by the political party to serve as an assistant floor leader. He is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the attendance of his party members in large numbers and securing their support in favour of or against a particular issue. He regulates and monitors their behaviour in the Parliament. The members are supposed to follow the directives given by the whip. Otherwise, disciplinary action can be taken. Hence, both statements are not correct.

Answer: (B)

Explanation: The total strength of the Constituent Assembly was to be 389. Of these, 296 seats were to be allotted to British India and 93 seats to the Princely States. Out of 296 seats allotted to the British India, 292 members were to be drawn from the eleven governors’ provinces and four from the four chief commissioners’ provinces, one from each. Each province and princely state (or group of states in case of small states) were to be allotted seats in proportion to their respective population. Roughly, one seat was to be allotted for every million population. Seats allocated to each British province were to be decided among the three principal communities—Muslims, Sikhs and general, in proportion to their population.

The representatives of each community were to be elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly and voting was to be by the method of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. There was no communal representation. It included all important personalities of India at that time, with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi and M A Jinnah. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Answer: (A)

Explanation: Fundamental Rights and Fundamental duties are correlative and inseparable. Also, the original constitution contained only the fundamental rights and not the fundamental duties. The fundamental duties of citizens were added in the Constitution later in 1976 on the recommendation of Swaran Singh Committee. In 2002, one more Fundamental Duty was added. Although both, Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties are inseparable, there are certain differences between them. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Answer: (B)

Explanation: The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added four new Directive Principles to the original list. They require the State:

1. To secure opportunities for healthy development of children (Article 39).
2. To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor (Article 39 A).
3. To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries (Article 43 A).
4. To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wild life (Article 48 A).

Answer: (D)

Explanation: An amendment of the Constitution can be initiated only by the introduction of a bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament and not in the state legislatures. The bill can be introduced either by a minister or by a private member and does not require prior permission of the president. The bill must be passed in each House by a special majority, that is, a majority (that is, more than 50 per cent) of the total membership of the House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting. Each House must pass the bill separately. In case of a disagreement between the two Houses, there is no provision for holding a joint sitting of the two Houses for the purpose of deliberation and passage of the bill. Hence, all statements are not correct.