Question

The Prime Minister, at the time of appointment:
1. need not necessarily be a member of one of the Houses of Parliament but must become a member of one of the Houses within six months.
2. need not necessarily be a member of one of the Houses of Parliament but must become a member of the Lok Sabha within six months.
3. must be either a nominated or elected member of one of the Houses of Parliament.
4. must be an elected member of only Lok Sabha.
A. 1 only
B. 1 and 3
C. 2 only
D. 4 only

Answer 1

Hint: Manmohan Singh (2004) was not elected by the people but he was appointed as the Prime Ministers of the country and then he became a member of Rajya Sabha after getting appointed.

Complete Answer:
In a parliamentary system of government provided by the constitution, the President is the nominal executive authority and the Prime Minister is the real executive authority. In other words, the President is the ‘Head of the State’ while the Prime Minister is the ‘Head of the Government.’ There is no specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister in the Constitution. The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President, Article 75 of the Indian Constitution states. The Delhi High Court in 1980 held that for a person there is no need to prove his majority in the Lok Sabha before getting appointed as the Prime Minister. The President shall first appoint him and then ask him to prove his majority in the Lok Sabha within a specific period of time. The Supreme Court in 1997 held that a person can be appointed as Prime Minister for six months, if he becomes a member of either House of Parliament otherwise he ceases to be the Prime Minister. Constitutionally, the Prime Minister may be a member of either House of Parliament. For example, Indira Gandhi, Deve Gowda, Manmohan Singh were the members of the Rajya Sabha.
So, the correct answer is Option A.

Note: According to Article 75, the President shall appoint the Prime Minister. However, this does not mean that the President is free to appoint anyone as the Prime Minister. As per the conventions of the parliamentary system of government, the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Lok Sabha has to be appointed by the President.