NCERT 7th Class (CBSE) Social Science: State Government

Question: What is the difference between the work that MLAs do in the Assembly and the work done by the government departments?

Answer: The difference is as follows:

1. Act of making Laws on certain issues is done by MLAs in the Legislative Assembly of each state while the implementation of these laws is done by various government departments.
2. Whatever wok is done by these government departments has to be approved by the members of the legislative assembly or MLAs.

Question: What do you mean by an MLA? Is it necessary to become a member of any political party to become a MLA?

Answer: The term MLA stands for a Member of Legislative Assembly. He / She is elected through a general election and represents a particular constituency. It is not necessary for one to be a member of a political party to become a MLA. He / she can contest the election as an independent candidate also. In some cases, he / she is sponsored by a political party. But one thing is necessary that he / she must be a citizen of India and fulfill the requisite qualifications for the post.

Question: What is the process of formation of government in a state?

Answer: A general election is conducted to elect representatives from various constituencies. The party which earns more than half of the total seats is said to be in a majority. That party is usually called for forming the government.
Sometimes, no party gains clear majority. In that case the party with maximum elected members tries to get support from the like-minded parties or independent candidates. The party that proves to have maximum supporters in that way is allowed to form government. Otherwise there would be re-election.

Question: What is role of the party that does not form government?

Answer: As per the Constitution all the parties which do not take part in the formation of government are called opposition parties. In our democratic set up the role of the opposition parties is in no way less important than the ruling party. The opposition parties keep a watch over the functioning of the ruling party. They take part in every discussion and debate held in the Assembly. They can check and protest any wrong action of the government.

Question: How does a government function in a state?

Answer: A government is headed by the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister, in order to manage the functioning of the government, appoints ministers at various levels like cabinet ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers. Every government departments is headed by a cabinet minister who is directly accountable for the functioning of the particular department. The heads of the government departments who are bureaucrats, are responsible for the handling of the government decisions. The bureaucrats project and get the works completed. The ministers give approval to the works.