Political Science · Political Institutions in India
UGC NET July 2018 Political Science
Which of the following was not a feature of the Government of India Act, 1919?
AProvision for a bicameral legislature at the center
BThe Legislative Assembly would have an elected majority and control over ministers ✓ Correct
CCommunal representation was not only retained but also extended
DEnlarged the electorates both for provinces and imperial legislature
Correct answer: (B) The Legislative Assembly would have an elected majority and control over ministers — The statement that is not a feature of the Government of India Act 1919 is that the Legislative Assembly would have an elected majority with control over ministers, which is…
Explanation
★The statement that is not a feature of the Government of India Act 1919 is that the Legislative Assembly would have an elected majority with control over ministers, which is option (2).
★The 1919 Act, the Montagu Chelmsford Reforms, did give the central Legislative Assembly an elected majority.
★However, it did not give the legislature control over ministers at the Centre, since there was no responsible government there.
★Dyarchy, with ministers responsible to the legislature, operated only in the provinces, not at the Centre.
★At the Centre the executive remained responsible to the British Parliament through the Governor General, not to the Indian legislature.
★So the claim of an elected majority with control over ministers is the false feature, making option (2) the answer.
★Option (1) is a genuine feature, because the Act set up a bicameral central legislature with a Council of State and a Legislative Assembly.
★Option (3) is a genuine feature, because communal representation was retained and extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and Europeans.
★Option (4) is a genuine feature, because the Act enlarged the electorates for both the provincial and the central legislatures.
★The franchise was widened but remained restricted to those meeting property, tax or educational qualifications.
★The Act introduced direct elections in India for the first time.
★It divided provincial subjects into transferred and reserved categories under dyarchy.
★It also provided for a Central Public Service Commission and for a review after ten years.
★The key limit of the 1919 Act was precisely the absence of responsible government at the Centre.
★For NET, remember that the 1919 Act gave an elected majority but no control over ministers at the Centre, where responsible government did not exist.
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