The State Executive

The State Executive

The Governor

The Constitution provides for the post of the Governor as the Head of a State in India. He is appointed by the President of India. He is the constitutional Head of a State. The Governor is appointed for a term of five years. But before the expiry of his full term, the President can dismiss him from office. The Governor may also resign on his own interest. His term of office may be extended and he may be transferred to another State. However, the State Government cannot remove the Governor from his post. To be the Governor, a person must be a citizen of India and should have completed 35 years of age. And he cannot be a member of the Parliament or the State legislature. He should not hold any office of profit.

While appointing the Governor, the President acts as per the advice of the Union Cabinet.The State Government is also consulted when the appoint-ment is to be made. Generally, a person is not appointed Governor in his own State.

Powers and functions

* The Governor is the Nominal Executive in a State. All the executive powers of the State are vested upon him and decisions are taken in his name. He appoints the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.

* He makes some important appointments of the State Government, such as, the Advocate general, Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission and others.

* The President imposes emergency in a State under Article 356 on the basis of the report of the Governor.

* The Governor also acts as the Chancellor of State Universities.

* He summons and prorogues the sessions of the State legislature and he can dissolve the Legislative Assembly.

* Money bills can be introduced in the State Legislative Assembly only with the approval of the Governor. The Governor may promulgate ordinances when the Legislative Assembly or both the Houses of the legislature (when there are two Houses) are not in session.

* The Governor may nominate one member from the Anglo- India Community to the Legislative Assembly if there are Anglo- Indian people in a State and when they are not duly represented in the State legislature. He may also nominate 1/6 members of the Legislature Council from among persons who are experts in the fields of science, literature, arts, social service and co- operative movement.

* The annual budget of the State Government is laid before the legislature with the approval of the Governor. The Governor must give his assent to all the bills passed in the legislature including money bills. The Contingency fund of the State is also placed at the disposal of the Governor.

Position of the Governor

The position of the Governor of a State is compared to the President of India as a nominal executive. But the Governor is not always a nominal executive. He can exercise his powers in the real sense on some occasions. He acts as an agent of the Central Government in a State. Therefore, he is responsible for maintaining relation between the Central Government and the State Government. The Governor may advise the Council of Ministers when faces difficult situations. The President declares emergency in a State on the basis of the report of the Governor regarding the law and order situation in the State. The Governor takes independent decisions while exercising discretionary powers. He may seek information from the Council of Ministers regarding various activities of the Government.

The Chief Minister

The Governor appoints the leader of the majority party in the State Legislative Assembly as the Chief Minister. He is the head of the State Council of Ministers. The Chief Minister has no fixed term of office. He remains in office so long as he gets support of the majority members of the Legislative Assembly. When he loses support in the legislature, he has to resign. The resignation of the Chief Minister means the resignation of the whole Council of Ministers in the State.

The Chief Minister must be a member of the State Legislature. If he is not a member of the State legislature at the time of his taking over charge, he must be so within a period of six months.

Powers and Functions

* The Chief Minister is the real executive of the State. All major decisions of the State Government are taken under his leadership.

* The Chief Minister plays an important role in the formation of the Council of Ministers. On the advice of the Chief Minister, the Governor appoints the other Ministers.

* The Chief Minister supervises the activities of different ministries and advises them accordingly. He also coordinates the activities of different ministries.

* The Chief Minister plays an important role in making policies of the State Government. He has to ensure that the policies of the government do not go against public interest. His voice is final in policy decisions of the State Government.

* He plays an important role in making higher appointments of the State Government. The Governor appoints different higher officials of the State Government on the advice of the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers.