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Consider the following statements 1. The Union Executive consists of the President and the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as the head. 2. The President may, by writing under his hand-addressed to the Vice-President, resign his office. 3. Executive power of the Union is vested in the Prime Minister. Which of the statements given above is/ are correct/
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect because the Union Executive consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers, and the Attorney General of India [3]. Statement 2 is correct; under Article 56(1)(a) of the Constitution, the President may resign from office by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-President. Statement 3 is incorrect because Article 53(1) explicitly states that the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President, not the Prime Minister [2]. While the Prime Minister is the 'real' executive head (de facto) and leads the Council of Ministers that advises the President , the formal constitutional vesting of executive power remains with the President [2]. Therefore, only statement 2 is accurate regarding constitutional provisions.
Sources
- [1] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 18: President > President > p. 186
- [3] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 18: President > President > p. 186
- [2] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 4: EXECUTIVE > PARLIAMENTARY EXECUTIVE IN INDIA > p. 84