Class 8 Civics Chapter 3 Why Do We Need a Parliament Extra Questions and Answers are provided here. These Extra Questions with solution are prepared by our team of expert teachers who are teaching in CBSE schools for years. Extra questions for Class 8 Civics Chapter 3 will help you to properly understand a particular concept of the chapter.

Why Do We Need a Parliament Class 8 Civics Extra Questions and Answers

Very Short Answer Type Question

1. What are the two Houses of Parliament?

Answer: The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha

2. What does EVM mean?

Answer: EVM means Electronic Voting Machine.

3. How does the Parliament session begins?

Answer: The Parliament, while in session, begins with a question hour.

4. When were EVMs used for the first time?

Answer: EVMs were used throughout the country for the first time in the 2004 general elections.

5. What is a constituency?

Answer: Constituency is an area whose voters elect a representative to a legislative body.

6. Who presides over Lok Sabha?

Answer: Lok Sabha (House of the People), with a total membership of 545, is presided over by the Speaker.

7. What is the purpose of parliament?
Or
What is the main function of the parliament?

Answer: Parliament enables citizens of India to participate in decision making and control the government.

8. What is the principle of universal adult franchise?

Answer: The principle of universal adult franchise means that all adult citizens of the country have the right to vote.

9. How many members does the President nominates in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha?

Answer: The President nominates 2 members to the Lok Sabha and 12 members to the Rajya Sabha.

10. Who makes the opposition party?

Answer: The Opposition in Parliament is formed by all the political parties that oppose the majority party/coalition formed. The largest amongst these parties is called the Opposition party.

Short Answer Type Questions

1. Parliament is the most important symbol of Indian Democracy. Explain.

Answer: Parliament enables citizens of India to participate in decision making and control the government, thus making it the most important symbol of Indian democracy and a key feature of the Constitution.

2. Which house of parliament is more powerful with regard to financial matters and how?

Answer: Lok Sabha is more powerful with regard to financial matters because money bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha. Thus, it controls the finances of the government.

3. Give reasons for the reservation of seats in Parliament for SCs, STs and OBCs.

Answer: Some seats are reserved in Parliament for SCs and STs. This has been done so that the MPs elected from these constituencies will be familiar with and can represent Dalit and Adivasi interests in Parliament.

4. Opposition plays an important role in democracy. Justify.
Or
What is the role of opposition in democracy?

Answer: The Opposition parties play a critical role in the healthy functioning of a democracy. They highlight drawbacks in various policies and programmes of the government and mobilise popular support for their own policies.

5. What are the basic ideals of democracy?

Answer: The basic ideals of democracy are:

• The ideas of participation in decision-making.
• The need for all democratic governments to have the consent of their citizens.

6. What are the major functions of the parliament?

Answer: The major functions of the parliament are:

• To select the National Government
• To control, guide and inform the government
• Law-Making

 7. Enlist the components of Indian Parliament.

Answer: The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the President of India and the two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People).

8. State the demands of the Indian National Congress in 1885.

Answer: The nationalists began to openly criticise the British government and make demands. In 1885, the Indian National Congress demanded that there be elected members in the legislature with a right to discuss the budget and ask questions.

9. What are reserved constituencies? What is the purpose behind such constituencies?

Answer: Reserved constituencies are those constituencies in which seats are reserved for SCs and STs on the basis of their population. This has been done so that the MPs elected from these constituencies will be familiar with and can represent Dalit and Adivasi interests in Parliament.

10. How many seats should a political party acquire in Lok Sabha to have a majority?

Answer: For a political party to form the government, they must have a majority of elected MPs. Since there are 543 elected (plus 2 Anglo-Indian nominated) members in Lok Sabha, to have a majority a party should have at least half the number i.e. 272 members or more.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Describe coalition government.
Or
What is coalition government?

Answer: Often times in the recent past it has been difficult for a single political party to get the majority that is required to form the government. They then join together with different political parties who are interested in similar concerns to form what is known as a coalition government.

2. How can all the citizens participate in the decision making process of the government?
Or
How do people participate in decision making in a Parliamentary government?
Or
How does the individual give approval to the government?

Answer: People would elect their representatives to the Parliament, then, one group from among these elected representatives forms the government. The Parliament, which is made up of all representatives together, controls and guides the government. In this sense people, through their chosen representatives, form the government and also control it.

3. Who are the People in Parliament?

Answer: Parliament now has more and more people from different backgrounds. For example, there are more rural members as also members from many regional parties. Groups and peoples that were till now unrepresented are beginning to get elected to Parliament. There has also been an increase in political participation from the Dalits and backward classes.

4. Write one merit and one demerit of coalition government.

Answer: Merit
Greater policy scrutiny is prominent in coalition government which could prove beneficial for voters.

Demerit
Conflict within governance due to conflicting ideologies of the two parties can make the government weak.

5. How is a national government selected?
Or
Explain the ways in which political party forms the government.

Answer: After the Lok Sabha elections, a list is prepared showing how many MPs belong to each political party. For a political party to form the government, they must have a majority of elected MPs. Since there are 543 elected (plus 2 Anglo-Indian nominated) members in Lok Sabha, to have a majority a party should have at least half the number i.e. 272 members or more.

6. Write a short note on Lok Sabha.

Answer: Lok Sabha One of the most important functions of the Lok Sabha is to select the executive. The executive is a group of persons who work together to implement the laws made by the Parliament. The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha (House of the People), with a total membership of 545, is presided over by the Speaker.

7. What is ‘Question Hour’ in Parliament?
Or
How does the Parliament control the executive?

Answer: The Parliament, while in session, begins with a question hour. The question hour is an important mechanism through which MPs can elicit information about the working of the government. This is a very important way through which the Parliament controls the executive. By asking questions the government is alerted to its shortcomings, and also comes to know the opinion of the people through their representatives in the Parliament, i.e. the MPs.

8. Describe the three categories of ministers that assist the Prime minister.

Answer: The three categories of Council of Ministers are:

• The Cabinet Ministers: The Cabinet Ministers hold important portfolios like Home, Defence, Finance, External Affairs, Railways, etc.
• Ministers of State: They may or may not hold an independent charge of any portfolio.
• Deputy Ministers: They assist the Cabinet Ministers and the Council of Ministers.

9. “With the coming of Independence we are going to be citizens of a free country”. What did this mean for India?

Answer: With the coming of independence, we were going to be citizens of a free country. This did not mean that the government could do what it felt like, it meant that the government had to be sensitive to people’s needs and demands. The dreams and aspirations of the freedom struggle were made concrete in the Constitution of independent India that laid down the principle of universal adult franchise, i.e. that all adult citizens of the country have the right to vote.

10. How are the representatives elected to the Parliament in India?

Answer: The Parliament in our system has immense powers because it is the representative of the people. Elections to the Parliament are held in a similar manner as they are for the state legislature. The Lok Sabha is usually elected once every five years. The country is divided into numerous constituencies. Each of these constituencies elects one person to the Parliament. The candidates who contest elections usually belong to different political parties. Once elected, these candidates become Members of Parliament or MPs. These MPs together make up the Parliament.

11. Why do you think our national movement supported the idea that all adults have a right to vote?

Answer: Our national movement supported the idea that all adults have a right to vote because in our struggle for independence people from all walks of life participated. They came from various backgrounds and were united in their aspirations for a free, equal and independent nation where decision-making would be in the hands of the people. The only way in which this would be possible would be through elections – allowing common people a vantage point from where they can consent to and approve of a government that “they” have a right to choose.

12. Write a short note on Rajya Sabha.

Answer: The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative of the states of India in the Parliament. It can also initiate legislation and a bill is required to pass through the Rajya Sabha in order to become a law. It, therefore, has an important role of reviewing and altering the laws initiated by the Lok Sabha. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of various states. There are 233 elected members plus 12 members nominated by the President.