Class 7 Social Science Civics

Chapter 3 How the State Government Works Notes

Who is an MLA?
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• MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) is a prominent member
elected by the people of the locality.

• Every state of India has a legislative assembly, and each state is

divided into different constituencies.

• In each constituency, there is one elected member by the people who

represent them to solve issues faced by people.

How Do these MLAs Later Become Chief Ministers?

The position of chief minister of the state entirely depends on the work
done for the betterment of the people. The party to whom the MLA
represents having a majority is called the ruling party. Post-election, MLAs
belonging to the ruling party will elect the leader who then becomes the
chief minister.

The Debate in the Legislative Assembly:

The NCERT class 7 civics chapter 3 notes also provide complete information
on how the debate in legislative assembly is done. The legislative assembly
is a platform where MLAs from the ruling and opposition party meet and
debate on different topics. All MLAs meeting in the assembly has complete
right on expressing their opinions and asking questions. Sometimes, these
debates can turn into action where the MLA may get banned for a certain
period.

Every MLA has specific responsibilities, which need to be fulfilled during the
tenure.

Working of the Government

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 • The organization of the state government includes the Governors, the
state legislature and the state council of ministers.
• Every state in India has a Legislative Assembly and duration of the
Legislative Assembly is five years.
• The head of the state is the Governor while the head of the government
consists of the council of ministers headed by the Chief Minister. Page | 2
• The leader of the ruling party who forms the government is the Chief
Minister.
• The Legislative Assembly is a place where leaders debate and discuss
on important issues and make important bills.
• In addition to the Legislative Assembly, the press conference is also a
mode of knowing what the government does for the people.
• The government works through various departments like public works
department, agriculture, health and education.
• The government has the power to make new laws for the state
regarding health and sanitation.
• Laws for the state are made by the state Legislative Assembly.
• Laws for the country are made by the Union Parliament.

An MLA is a member of the Legislative Assembly. He is elected by the people. In this

way, he represents people.

Every state in India has a Legislative Assembly.

Each state is divided into constituencies.

A constituency is an area from which all the voters living there choose their
representatives, who then become Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

These MLAs belong to different political parties.

A political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number of constituencies,
a state can be said to be in a majority.

The political party that has a majority becomes the ruling party and all other
members become the opposition.

After the elections, the MLAs belonging to the ruling party elect their leader who
becomes the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister then selects other people as
ministers.

The Governor of the state appoints the Chief Minister and other ministers.

The ministers have separate offices.

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Some MLAs have dual responsibilities—one as an MLA and the other as a minister.

The debate is generally held in the Assembly to discuss current problems. During
debate time MLAs can express their opinions and ask questions related to the issue
or give suggestions about what should be done by the government. The minister
then replies to the questions and assures the Assembly that adequate steps are Page | 3
being taken.

The Chief Minister and other ministers together are responsible to run the
government.

The word ‘government’, refers to government departments and various ministers

who head them.

All the MLAs who gather together in the legislative assembly are called the
Legislature.

The Legislature Assembly is not the only place where opinions are expressed about
the work of the government. There several newspapers, TV channels, and other
organizations which also talk about the government.

After the discussion in the assembly, a press conference is generally held by a

particular minister who explains the steps taken by the government. Media persons
then report these discussions in several newspapers.

The government can also decide to make new laws for the state regarding sanitation
and health facilities. The various government departments then implement these
laws.

Whenever the government fails to satisfy people’s needs, they organize meetings to
voice their opinions and protest against the government.

Constituency: It refers to a particular area from which all the voters living there
choose their representatives.

Majority: A political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number of
constituencies in a state can say to be in a majority.

Opposition party: The elected representatives who are not the members of the ruling
party belong to the opposition party. The representative together plays the role of
questioning government decisions and actions. They also raise new issues for
consideration in the Assembly.

Ruling party: The political party that has the majority is known as the ruling party.

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Press conference: A gathering of media persons who are invited to hear about and
ask questions on a particular issue and are then expected to report on this to the
larger public

How the State Government Works Class 7 Civics Extra Page | 4

Questions and Answers
Table of Contents
• Very Short Extra Questions and Answers
• Short Extra Questions and Answers
• Long Extra Questions and Answers
Very Short Extra Questions and Answers

1. What is the full form of MLA?

Answer: Members of Legislative Assembly

2. Who is the head of the State?

Answer: The Head of the State is the Governor.

3. Where are laws for entire country made?

Answer: Laws for the entire country are made in the Parliament.

4. Who appoints ‘Governor of state’?

Answer: ‘Governor of state’ is appointed by the Central Government.

5. Who is the executive head of state in India?

Answer: Chief Minister is the executive head of state in India.

6. How many levels of government are there and what are they?

Answer: Government works at three levels – local, state and national.

7. Why is the governor of state appointed?

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Answer: Governor of state is appointed to ensure that the State
Government works within the rules and regulations of the Constitution.

8. Name some departments of government.

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Answer: Public Works Department, the Agriculture Department, the Health
Department, the Education Department and so on.

9. What do you know about wallpaper project?

Answer: Wallpaper is an interesting activity through which research can be

done on particular topics of interest.

10. Why do people in a democratic setup organise meetings?

Answer: In a democracy, people organise meetings to voice their opinions

and protest against the government.

11. What is a Legislative Assembly?

Answer: A Legislative Assembly is a place where all the MLAs, whether from
the ruling party or from the opposition meet to discuss various things.

Short Extra Questions and Answers

1. What do you understand by the word ‘government’?

Answer: In common usage the word ‘government’ refers to government

departments and various ministers who head them.

2. What do you mean by the word legislature?

Answer: All the MLAs who gather together (assemble) in the legislative
assembly are called the Legislature.

3. What does coalition government mean?

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Answer: At times, the ruling party may not be a single party but a group of
parties working together. This is called a coalition.

4. Name some political parties of India.

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Answer: The Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist
Congress Party, Communist Party of India etc.

5. When did Telangana become an official state?

Answer: Telangana became the 29th State of India on the 2nd June 2014,
after the reorganisation of the State of Andhra Pradesh.

6. What is the role of opposition parties in the government?

Answer: Opposition parties play the role of questioning government

decisions and actions as well as raise new issues for consideration in the
Assembly.

7. Who have the responsibility of running various government

departments and ministries?

Answer: The chief minister and other ministers have the responsibility of
running various government departments or ministries.

8. Why the chief minister and the minister for health has visited
Patalpuram district?

Answer: They went to visit the families who had lost their relatives and also
visited people in the hospitals.

9. What is the purpose of a press conference?

Answer: A press conference is a meeting, organized for the purposes of

officially distributing information to the media and answering questions
from reporters.

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10. What does the term constituency mean?

Answer: Constituency is a particular area from which all the voters living
there choose their representatives. This could be, for example, a panchayat
ward or an area that chooses an MLA. Page | 7

11. Define the term press conference.

Answer: Press conference is a gathering of journalists from the media who

are invited to hear about and ask questions on a particular issue and are
then expected to report on this to the larger public.

12. Explain the following terms–majority, ruling party, opposition.

Answer: A political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number
of constituencies in a state can be said to be in a majority. The political
party that has the majority is called the ruling party and all other members
are called the opposition.

13. Why should decisions taken by the Chief Minister and other
ministers be debated in the Legislative Assembly?

Answer: Whatever decisions are being taken have to be approved by the

members of the legislative assembly. In a democracy, these members can
ask questions, debate an important issue, decide where money should be
spent, etc. They have the main authority to finalize the decision.

14. Who becomes a chief minister? What is his or her role in a state?

Answer: After the elections, the MLAs belonging to the ruling party will
elect their leader who will become the chief minister. The chief minister
then selects other people as ministers. The chief minister and other
ministers have the responsibility of running various government
departments or ministries.

Long Extra Questions and Answers

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1. How does the press conference help you get information on what
the government is doing?

Answer: Government also organizes press conference to present

information to members of the mass media. Reporters ask many questions Page | 8
at this meeting. These discussions are then reported in different
newspapers. Through newspaper we come to know about different issues
and about the government plans.

2. Use the terms ‘constituency’ and ‘represent’ to explain who an MLA

is and how is the person elected?

Answer: Every state in India has a Legislative Assembly. Each state is

divided into different areas or constituencies. From each constituency, the
people elect one representative who then becomes a Member of the
Legislative Assembly (MLA). People stand for elections in the name of
different parties. These MLAs, therefore, belong to different political parties.

3. In the working of the government, explain the difference between

being an MLA and an MLA who is also a minister?

Answer: The chief minister and other ministers have the responsibility of
running various government departments or ministries. They have separate
offices. A Legislative Assembly is a place where all the MLAs, whether from
the ruling party or from the opposition meet to discuss various things.
Hence, some MLAs have dual responsibilities: one as an MLA and the other
as a minister.

4. How does a government function in a state?

Answer: In a democracy, it is the people who elect their representatives as

Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and, thus, it is the people who
have the main authority. The ruling party members then form the
government and some members are appointed as ministers. These
ministers are in charge of various departments of the government such as
health. Whatever work is done by these departments has to be approved by
the members of the legislative assembly.

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5. How do the people in power like the chief minister and the minister
take action?

Answer: They do so through various departments like the Public Works

Department, the Agriculture Department, the Health Department, the Page | 9
Education Department and so on. They also have to answer questions that
are asked in the Legislative Assembly and convince people asking the
questions that proper steps are being taken. At the same time, newspapers
and the media widely discuss the issue and the government has to respond,
for example, by holding the press conferences.

6. How did some MLAs become Ministers? Explain.

Answer: After the elections, a political party whose MLAs have won more
than half the number of constituencies in a state can be said to be in a
majority. The political party that has the majority is called the ruling party
and all other members are called the opposition. The MLAs belonging to
the ruling party will elect their leader who will become the chief minister.
The chief minister then selects other people as ministers. After the
elections, it is the Governor of the state who appoints the chief minister and
other ministers.

7. What is the difference between the work that MLAs do in the

Assembly and the work done by government departments?

Answer: Difference between the work that MLAs do in the Assembly and
the work done by government departments are:

•Act of making laws on certain issues is done by MLAs in the

Legislative Assembly of each state while these laws are
implemented by the various government departments.
• Whatever work is done by these government departments has to
be approved by the members of the legislative assembly (i.e.
MLAs).
8. What is the process of formation of government in a state?

Answer: Every state in India has a Legislative Assembly. Each state is

divided into different areas or constituencies. From each constituency, the

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people elect one representative who then becomes a Member of the
Legislative Assembly (MLA). People stand for elections in the name of
different parties. These MLAs, therefore, belong to different political
parties. A political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number
of constituencies in a state can be said to be in a majority. The political Page | 10
party that has the majority forms the government. In case no party gains
the majority, in that case the party with maximum elected members tries to
get support from different parties or candidates. The party that proves to
have maximum supporters is allowed to form the government. If no party
proves the majority then there would be re-election

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