Powers and Functions of Prime Minister

Introduction
The Union Executive authorises powers to the government to implement laws
that fall under Articles 52 to 78 of Chapter- I of Part IV. Due to Its important
activities, the Union Executive became the most significant branch of the
government. The union executive of India consists of the President, the head of
the State, Vice-president and Prime Minister, and Council of Ministers who
governs the Union and Attorney General. The Indian Constitution empowers
the President’s executive authority but is not allowed to exercise it alone. The
Prime Minister supervises the Council of Ministers helps the President exercise
executive power.
India follows a Parliamentary system of Government in which the Prime
Minister is the leader of the executive system of Government of India and also
the head of the Council of Ministers as mentioned in Article 75 of the Indian
constitution. Prime Minister is the real custodian of all the executive authority.
The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and
appointment of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister presides over the
Cabinet. At the Centre, he and the Council of Ministers comprise the executive
power.
For one to be a Prime Minister of India, certain qualifications are required
which includes;
1. Must be a citizen of India.
2. Must be the member of either of the Houses of the Parliament i.e. The
Lok Sabha and The Rajya Sabha.
3. Should complete 25 years of age if he is a member of the Lok Sabha and
30 years of age if he is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
4. bars the Prime Minister to hold the office of profit.
In the parliamentary form of government Powers and Functions of the Prime
Minister established by the constitution. The Prime Minister is the actual
executive power which is de facto executive, while the President serves as the
de facto executive authority that is de jure executive. Thus, he serves as the
representative of the people.
Powers and Function of Prime Minister
In relation to Council of Ministers
The Prime Minister recommends persons who can be appointed as ministers by
the president. The President can appoint only those persons as ministers who
are recommended by the Prime Minister. The allocation of portfolios to the
council of ministers is done by the Prime Minister. He/she presides over the
meeting of the council of ministers and influences its decisions. He/she guides,
directs, controls, and coordinates the activities of all the ministers. He/she can
ask a minister to resign or advise the President to dismiss him in case of a
difference of opinion and can bring about the collapse of the council of
ministers by resigning from office.
The resignation or death of a Prime Minister automatically dissolves the council
of ministers and thereby generates a vacuum while the resignation or death of
any other minister, on the other hand, merely creates a vacancy which the
Prime Minister may or may not like to fill.
Power to appoint authorities
Prime Minister has the right to give advice to the President in relation to the
appointment of the Government Authorities. Such authorities include The
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Attorney General of India, Solicitor
General of India, Election Commissioners, Chairman and Members of The
Finance Commission. Prime Minister also has the right to give advice to the
President on the appointment of The Council of Ministers and The Cabinet
Ministers.
As Leader of the House of Parliament
Prime Minister is the Leader of the Lower House of Parliament i.e., The Lok
Sabha. He advises President with regard to the summoning of the sessions of
The Parliament. The Prime Minister can recommend the President for the
dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Prime Minister in consultation with the Speaker
of the lower house decides the Agenda of the House.
Aid and Advice the President
Prime Minister is the Chief Advisor of The President. The Prime Minister
advises The President in all the matters of the state. He informs The President
regarding all the decisions taken in the Cabinet Meeting. The Prime Minister
advises and gives all the information to The President regarding the emergency
situation or any changes in the foreign policy. Prime Minister advises the
President to take necessary steps in the economic, financial, political and
developmental situations of the country.
Power as the Chairman of The Cabinet
The Prime Minister is the Leader of The Cabinet. He presides over the meetings
and decides the agenda of the meetings. All the decisions of the Cabinet
meetings are decided by the approval and consent of The Prime Minister. The
reject or accept of the proposal of the Cabinet discussions is in the hand of The
Prime Minister. The Prime Minister guides, directs, controls and coordinates all
the activities of the Minister. In case of any wrongdoing and difference in the
opinion, the Prime Minister can ask a Minister to resign or advise The President
to dismiss the Power of the Minister.
He is the Chairman of the NITI Aayog National Development Council, National
Integration Council, Inter-State Council, National Water Resources Council.
Power to Remove the Minister
The Minister remains in the office according to the pleasure of The Prime
Minister. The Prime Minister can demand resignation from any Ministers at any
time and the Minister is duty bound to accept it. In April 2010 when
Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, Shashi Tharoor, the Minister of State
for External Affairs had to resign from his office under the allegation of the
corruption in the IPL case.
Emergency Powers
The President declares the emergency only under the advice of the Prime
Minister. Under Article 352 of The Indian Constitution, The President can
declare an emergency on the basis of the written request by the Prime
Minister. In the year 1975-1977, the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed with
the written request and consent from the Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
imposed emergency. The reason behind this was threat to National Security
and bad economic conditions.
Thus, the Prime Minister has the power to impose an emergency when the
situation is as such.
Coordinating Power
The Prime Minister is the chief coordinator between the President and the
Cabinet. The Prime Minister communicates the President all the decisions of
the Cabinet and puts before the Cabinet the decisions of the President, thus
acting as the medium of the communication. It is the responsibility of the
Prime Minister to coordinate the activities of all the department and to secure
the cooperation among the ministers.
Other Powers
Prime Minister is the Leader of the Nation. The general elections of the country
are fought in his name. He plays a key role in determining Indian Foreign Policy
and relations with other countries. Power to allocate and change the
department of the Ministers is vested in the hands of Prime Minister.
Despite being these powers there are some limitations too on the powers of
the Prime Minister.
Vote of no confidence: Under the Parliamentary system of government, the
Prime Minister is not performing to the satisfaction of the Members of
Parliament and not meeting the aspirations for which he was put there, they
could pass a vote of no confidence in him. Under such a situation, the Prime
Minister must resign. The fear of being pushed out of power serves as a
limitation to his powers.
Toeing the party line: The party, to which the Prime Minister belongs, has an
ideology and policies manifesto they would like to implement. The Prime
Minister can, therefore, not act outside the policies that the party professes.
Advice from the head of State: From time to time, the Head of State may
advise the Prime Minister on one issue or the other. He or she may draw the
attention of the Prime Minister to certain pertinent issues confronting the
country. In that sense, the Head of State serves as a limitation to the Prime
Minister.
Public opinion: The Prime Minister could be influenced by the public. This may
happen when he leads the introduction of a policy that the public thinks is
inimical to their interest. Also, the prime minister counselling may not want to
be in the news for the wrong reasons. In that sense, he is limited by the
opinions of the public.
Conclusion
The Prime Minister is sometimes referred to as the "Keystone of the Cabinet
Arch." The Prime Minister may be a Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha member. He is
the leader of the ruling party and the political head of the armed forces. The
Prime Minister is in charge of ensuring good government and corruption-free
ministries. Thus, the Prime Minister plays a very significant and highly crucial
role in the politico-administrative system of the country.
As DR. B.R. Ambedkar stated, ‘If any functionary under our constitution is to be
compared with the US president, he is the Prime Minister and not the
President of the Union’.
Prime Minister is First among equals
Lord Morely described Prime Minister as ‘primus inter pares’ (first among
equals) and ‘key stone of the cabinet arch’. He said, “The head of the cabinet is
‘primus inter pares’, and occupied a position which long as it lasts, is one of
exceptional and peculiar authority”. Primus Inter Pares is a Latin phrase
meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for those
who are formally to other members of their group but are accorded unofficial
repeat, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. In India, the post of the
Prime Minister is often described as that of the, 'first among equals.' It is
considered that all members of the Cabinet are equal, but the Prime Minister is
superior in some ways. Since the Indian Constitution is heavily inspired by the
constitution of the United Kingdom, this phrase too is borrowed from the
original Latin principle of primus inter pares that underlines the position of the
PM in the UK.