Indian Polity : Prime Minister & Council Of Ministers

Q 7 / 8

UPSC CSE Prelims 2007

Consider the following statements:

  1. Jawaharlal Nehru was in his fourth term as the Prime Minister of India at the time of his death.
  2. Jawaharlal Nehru represented Rae Bareilly constituency as a Member of Parliament.
  3. The first non-Congress Prime Minister of India assumed the office in the year 1977.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

EXPLANATION

Correct Option

Statement 1 is correct. Jawaharlal Nehru served as the Prime Minister of India for four consecutive terms. These terms were: 1947-1952 (interim government), 1952-1957, 1957-1962, and 1962-1964. He passed away while in office during his fourth term on May 27, 1964.

Statement 3 is correct. Morarji Desai was the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. He assumed office in March 1977 following the victory of the Janata Party in the general elections conducted after the Emergency period.

Incorrect Options

Statement 2 is incorrect. Jawaharlal Nehru represented the Phulpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh as a Member of Parliament. The Rae Bareilly constituency was later represented by Indira Gandhi.

Option (a) is incorrect because Statement 2 is factually incorrect.

Option (b) is incorrect because it omits Statement 1, which is correct.

Option (c) is incorrect because it omits Statement 3, which is correct.

SOURCEIndian Polity by M. Laxmikanth, Chapter 19: Prime Minister, India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra, Chapter 1: The First Decade, India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra, Chapter 15: The Emergency