Consider the following statements about Parliamentary Committees : 1. They are a subset of Council of Ministers. 2. The scrutiny of Legislative and Constitutional Amendment Bills gets done in these Committees. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Statement 1 is incorrect because Parliamentary Committees are not a subset of the Council of Ministers; they are composed of Members of Parliament from both the ruling and opposition parties to ensure accountability [4]. Ministers are generally excluded from being members of many committees, such as Departmentally Related Standing Committees, to maintain independent oversight. Statement 2 is correct as a primary function of these committees is the scrutiny of various bills [1]. Advisory committees, including Select or Joint Committees, are specifically appointed to consider and report on particular bills referred to them by the House [3]. This includes the scrutiny of Legislative and Constitutional Amendment Bills, where committees examine the clauses in detail and suggest improvements before the bill is passed by the Parliament [4]. The committee system thus reduces the burden on the legislature by performing detailed investigative work [4].

Sources

1. [1] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: LEGISLATURE > WH AT DO THE COMMITTEES OF PARLIAMENT DO? A significant feature of the legislative process > p. 118
2. [4] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: LEGISLATURE > WH AT DO THE COMMITTEES OF PARLIAMENT DO? A significant feature of the legislative process > p. 119
3. [2] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 24: Parliamentary Committees > Ad Hoc Committees > p. 271
4. [3] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 24: Parliamentary Committees > Ad Hoc Committees > p. 271