1. What are the roles of the President?
Following are them:
- appoints the PM, ministers, chief justice, judges of supreme and high courts, attorney general, comptroller and auditor general,
Chairman and members of UPSC, chief election commissioner and other members of election commission, chiefs of army, navy, air force
- summons and dissolves parliament and Lok Sabha
- summons joint sitting of both houses of parliament headed by speaker of Lok Sabha
- appoint member of Lok Sabha when speaker and deputy speaker is vacant
- appoint member of Rajya Sabha when chairman and deputy chairman is vacant
- 12 members with special knowledge in arts etc and 2 members of Anglo Indian community, so total 14 members are nominated by President in Lok Sabha
- Raises the question of disqualification of members of parliament consulting election commission
- Gives permission to money bill, state reorganization bill. When bill is sent to President, he can give assent to bill or withhold assent or return bill (except money bill) for reconsideration to parliament. But if the bill is passed again by parliament without amendments President is bound to give assent
- Promulgate ordinances when parliament is not in session. An ordinance raised by President when it is not in session is approved by parliament within 6 weeks after reassembly. It can also withdrew ordinances (Article 123)
- lays the report of CAG, UPSC, finance commission before parliament
- Power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend the sentence of any convicted person. He is the only authority for pardoning the sentence of death (Article 72)
- President through his representatives presents the annual financial statement or the union budget before parliament
- makes advance from contingency fund to meet unforeseen expenses
- constitute finance commission for every 5 yrs for revenue distribution between centre and state
- send and receives diplomats like ambassadors, high commissioner
- He is the supreme commander of Indian defense
- declares war and peace with approval from parliament
2. What are the different veto powers of the President?
There are three veto powers given to President. They are:
- Absolute veto: withholding assent
- Suspensive veto: sending back bill
- Pocket veto: taking no action on the bill passed by legislature used in 1986 on postal bill by President at time of Giani Zail Singh
3. What are the roles of Vice President?
They are:
- Acts as the ex officio chairman of Rajya Sabha (similar to speaker in Lok Sabha)
- Acts as President when President Office is vacant for maximum of 6months. When acts as President then deputy chairman becomes chairman of Rajya Sabha. If office of both President and Vice President is vacant then chief justice or senior most judge of Supreme Court acts as President (e.g. When President Zakir Hussain died and Vice President VV Giri resigned then chief justice M Hidayatullah acts as President)