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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 technically incomplete; according to the Constitution (Articles 52-78), the Union Executive consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers, and the Attorney General of India [4]. While the Prime Minister heads the Council of Ministers, omitting the Vice-President and Attorney General makes the description of the 'Union Executive' composition inaccurate in a strict constitutional sense. Statement 2 is correct; Article 56(1)(a) specifies that the President may resign by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-President [t2][t3]. Statement 3 is incorrect; Article 53(1) explicitly states that the executive power of the Union is vested in the President, not the Prime Minister [t2][t3][t8]. Although the Prime Minister is the real executive head, the formal constitutional vesting is in the President [c1][t4]. Thus, only statement 2 is correct.
Sources
- [2] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 18: President > President > p. 186
- [4] https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/pdf1/Part5.pdf