With reference to the legislative powers of the President of India regarding different types of bills, consider the following statements: 1. If a public or private bill is returned by the President for reconsideration and passed again by both Houses, the President must give assent to it. 2. In the case of a Constitutional Amendment Bill, the President has the power to either withhold assent or return the bill for reconsideration. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Parliament, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha & Legislative Procedure — question ID 854
Options
A.
B.
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: If the President returns a bill (public or private member's bill) for reconsideration, and both Houses pass it again with or without amendments, the President must give assent. This reflects the suspensive veto of the President. Government and private bills are treated equally in this regard. Statement 2 is incorrect: In the case of a Constitutional Amendment Bill, the President must give assent. The President can neither withhold assent nor return the bill to Parliament for reconsideration.