Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk

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📍 The Question

Consider the following statements:

I. If any question arises as to whether a Member of the House of the People has become subject to disqualification under the 10th Schedule, the President’s decision in accordance with the opinion of the Council of Union Ministers shall be final.

II. There is no mention of the word ‘political party’ in the Constitution of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) I only
(b) II only
(c) Both I and II
(d) Neither I nor II

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✅ Correct Answer: (d) Neither I nor II

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🎯 Theme of the Question

Polity & Governance
Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law)
Disqualification Authority: Speaker vs President
Constitutional Amendments & Terminology (“political party”)

This question is a classic UPSC trap: mixing up who decides disqualification and what words exist in the Constitution after amendments.

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🧠 Classroom Explanation

Let us verify both statements, one by one.

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🔹 Statement I ❌

Claim: Under the Tenth Schedule, President decides disqualification (on Council of Ministers’ opinion) and it is final.

✅ What the Constitution actually says:

• Under Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha decides disqualification of Lok Sabha members (and Chairman for Rajya Sabha).
• The “final” authority within the Schedule is the Speaker/Chairman, not the President.

✅ Judicial Reality (UPSC loves this add-on):

• The Speaker’s decision, though called “final” in the Schedule, is subject to judicial review (e.g., for mala fides, perversity, constitutional violations).

✅ Where does the President come in?

• President’s role is linked to Article 102 disqualification, and even there the President acts based on Election Commission’s opinion, not Council of Ministers.

📌 Verdict: ❌ Statement I is incorrect

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🔹 Statement II ❌

Claim: The Constitution does not mention the word “political party”.

✅ Reality:

• Even if the original 1950 Constitution did not explicitly use “political party” in many places, the Constitution today (as amended) definitely contains it.
• The term appears repeatedly in the Tenth Schedule, inserted by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985 (Anti-Defection Law).

📌 Verdict: ❌ Statement II is incorrect

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📊 Final Assessment

Statement	Status
I	❌ Incorrect
II	❌ Incorrect

👉 Correct answer: (d) Neither I nor II

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🧩 Prelims Trap Alerts

• Anti-defection ≠ President’s domain
  ✅ It’s the Speaker/Chairman (Tenth Schedule), not President + Council of Ministers.
• “Constitution doesn’t mention political party” is an old-school trap.
  ✅ Amendments made the term explicit via the Tenth Schedule (1985).

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🧠 One-Line Memory Hooks

• “Defection goes to Speaker, not Rashtrapati.”
• “Political party entered the Constitution through the Tenth Schedule.”

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🧭 IAS Monk Whisper

UPSC doesn’t test your memory alone. It tests whether you can distinguish constitutional authority from political imagination.