The Points that emphasize the role of the President of India.
1.Not Head of Government-
The President of India is Head of the State, but not the Head of Government.
2. Less Powerful than the Council of Ministers-
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India is a Parliamentary democracy. The members of Council of Ministers at the centre are responsible to the Lok Sabha. Further, most of the members of Council of Ministers are directly elected by the people, but the President of India is indirectly elected. So, the Council of Ministers is more powerful than the President.
3. Bound to Accept the Cabinet’s Advice-
The President of India is bound to accept the advice of the Council of Ministers. Of course, he has the power to return its advice to the Council of Ministers for reconsideration. But he is bound to accept it, if the same advice is sent back to him after reconsideration by the Council of Ministers.
4. Discretionary Powers of President-
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Although the President is not the head of the Union Executive, he is not totally weak or helpless. In several situations he can exercise real executive powers.
(a) If no party fails to win absolute majority in the lok Sabha election-
If no political party is able to win absolute majority in the Lok Sabha, then the President has the discretion to invite any party to form government.
(b) When the Government loses confidence in the House-
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If, after losing the confidence of the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister advises the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha, then the President is not bound to abide by his advice. The President will be free then to decide whether he will dissolve the Lok Sabha or he will try to explore an alternative government.
(c) Not bound to give assent to a Bill-
The President has the power to return a bill to the Parliament for its reconsideration. When a bill is sent to him by the Governor of a state for his assent, he may return it for reconsideration by the Assembly of that state or he may keep it with him indefinitely without giving assent to it.
5. Not a Rubber Stamp-
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The preceding discussion strongly suggests that the President of India is not an ornamental head or a rubber stamp. How powerful and influential the, President could be depends upon his personality, efficiency and situation.
The President of India is not as powerful as the President of the United States of America. Though he has a great deal of similarity with the British King, he seems to be more influential than him in national politics.