Union Territory

• If a new state of the Indian Union is to be created, the First Schedule of the Constitution must be amended.
• If a new state of the Indian Union is to be created, the First Schedule of the Constitution must be amended.
• The First Schedule of the Indian constitution deals with the lists of States and Union Territories of India and their changes.
• Article 1 to Article 4 comes under the First Schedule.
• A Governor is the constitutional head of the State while the President of India is the executive head of the Union Territory.

Instrument of Accession

• The Instrument of Accession is a legal document that ceded J&K to the Dominion of India as per the Indian Independence Act 1947.
• India has only defence powers as per the Instrument of Accession with Jammu & Kashmir.
• It was signed by Maharaja Hari Singh, on 26th October 1947.
• As per the Instrument of accession India’s Parliament has the power to legislate in respect of Jammu and Kasmir only on matters of defence, external affairs, and communication.
• Article 370 was incorporated in the Constitution of India using the Instrument of Accession.
• An interim state government was instituted by a proclamation made by the Maharaja on 5th March 1948, soon after the Instrument of Accession.
• Lord Mountbatten was the governor-general of India during the Instrument of Accession.

Council of Ministers

• The fundamental principle underlying the working of parliamentary system of government is the principle of collective responsibility.
• Article 164 clearly states that the council of ministers is collectively responsible to the legislative assembly of the state.
• This means that all the ministers own joint responsibility to the legislative assembly for all their acts of omission and commission.
• The governor may not oblige the council of ministers which has lost the confidence of the legislative assembly.
• The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.
• The ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor.

Governor

• Governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at the Union level.
• Governors exist in the states while lieutenant-governors or administrators exist in union territories.
• The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief ministers of the states and his/her councils of ministers.
• Although, in UT’s, the real power lies with the lieutenant governor or administrator, except in NCT of Delhi and Puducherry where they share power with a council of ministers headed by a chief minister.
• In India, a lieutenant governor is in charge of a union territory. However, the rank is present only in the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Puducherry.
• However, the governor of Punjab acts as the administrator of Chandigarh.
• Lieutenant governors do not hold the same rank as a governor of a state in the list of precedence.

Speaker of the legislative assembly

• The Speaker of the Legislative assembly conducts the business in house and decides whether a bill is a money bill or not.
• They maintain discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for unruly behavior by suspending them.
• The speaker's official role is to moderate the debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes.
• The speaker decides who may speak and has the power to discipline members who break the procedures of the chamber or house.