Hi,

Parliament exerts control over the executive through procedural devices such as question hour, zero hour, calling attention motion,  adjournment motion,  half and hour discussion, etc.. Member of different political parties are elected / nominated to the parliament and committees.

Some of the parliamentary devices to control the executive are question hour, zero hour, calling attention motion, adjournment motion, half-an-hour discussion , etc.

Members of different political parties are elected/nominated to the parliamentary committees.

In a parliamentary democracy like India, although the three branches of the State i.e. Legislative, Judiciary and Executive are theoretically separate, in practice the executive is a part of legislature. And since the executive is always in a majority, the control exercised over it by the legislature seems only weak.

Parliamentary Control

The Constitution of India established a parliamentary form of government in which the Executive is held responsible to the Parliament for its acts.

Parliament exercises control over Executive through debates and discussions on the floor. It has instruments like short duration discussions during question and zero-hours, calling attention motion, adjournment motion, no-confidence motion, censure motion, etc.

It also supervises the activities of the Executive with the help of its committees like committee on government assurance, committee on subordinate legislation, committee on petitions, etc.

The ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament in general and to the Lok Sabha in particular. As a part of collective responsibility, there is individual responsibility, that is, each minister is individually responsible for the efficient administration of the ministry under his charge. They continue in office so long as they enjoy the confidence of the majority members in the Lok Sab.

The Union Parliament maintains control over the Executive in the following manner:

The Question Hour (Interpellation): This is the most important hour of the two Houses. Here, the first hour of a sitting in both the houses is allotted for asking questions and answering of questions. This is done to obtain information on matters of public importance or to ventilate a grievance.

Adjournment Motion: This motion is aimed at censuring the acts of omission and commission of the Ministers. For example in the past, the motion was allowed for the following subjects: - rejection of a government bill, passing of a private member’s bill against the wishes of the government, death of several persons due to the consumption of unlicensed liquor.

No-confidence Motion: If a government acts against the Constitutional provisions, it can be voted out of office by passing a no-confidence motion. In such a case, the whole Ministry has to resign from office.

Censure Motion: This motion is moved against a group of Ministers or an individual Minister that expresses disapproval against his policies or some kind of deed. Adoption of this motion results in the resignation of the government.

Monetary Controls: During the Budget session, a cut motion can be moved. The Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts ensures that public money is spent in accordance with Parliament’s decision. It examines the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Hope this helps.