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Cabinet Minister

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

BJP

Cabinet Minister

Performance

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How well they do their official job — attendance, questions, funds. From government records.

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Role in the Government of India

As Cabinet Minister, this leader runs these departments:

  • External Affairs

    Foreign policy, diplomacy, embassies and Indians abroad.

What they are accountable for

This person holds more than one office. Here is what they are accountable for in each role.

Union Cabinet Minister

Runs one or more national departments — like Health, Railways or Defence — and must answer to Parliament for how they are run.

You can hold them accountable for

  • Attending Cabinet meetings and Parliament and taking an active part in their work
  • Answering questions honestly in Parliament about their ministry — during Question Hour, debates and committees — and not misleading the House
  • Delivering on their ministry's mandate, so its schemes, services and stated promises actually reach people
  • Spending public money and using their official powers lawfully, carefully and without waste
  • Declaring their assets, liabilities and business interests to the Prime Minister each year by 31 August, as the Code of Conduct for Ministers requires
  • Avoiding conflicts of interest and not using the office for personal, family or party gain
  • Following the Constitution, the law, court orders and the rules of the House, and honouring their oath of office and of secrecy
  • Standing by collective Cabinet decisions in public, or resigning, under the rule of collective responsibility (Article 75(3))
  • Ethical, corruption-free conduct in office — no bribery, nepotism or misuse of official staff, vehicles or resources
  • Being reachable and responsive to citizens and running a working public-grievance system for their ministry
  • Being transparent — giving information under the Right to Information Act, tabling required reports, and acting on CAG audits and parliamentary-committee findings
  • Doing the duties the law requires the ministry to do, and not sitting on rules, appointments or decisions that are due
  • Doing their job as a sitting MP too — if they are in the Lok Sabha, serving the people of their constituency; if in the Rajya Sabha, representing their state
What this role covers — and what it does not

What they do

  • Running one or more Union ministries or departments and directing the civil servants in them
  • Setting policy and framing rules and notifications for their subject (for example health, roads, railways or defence)
  • Proposing government bills and steering them through both Houses of Parliament
  • Managing how their ministry spends the money Parliament grants it, and running its central schemes
  • Taking part in Cabinet meetings and big national decisions as one of its members
  • Overseeing the public-sector companies, boards, regulators and bodies attached to their ministry
  • Answering MPs' questions and debates about their ministry in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
  • Making appointments and approvals that the law allows the ministry to make
  • Representing the Government of India on their subject at home and abroad

Not their job — ask instead

  • Everyday local problems — garbage, local roads, street lights, drains, local water — are handled by your Municipality or Panchayat, not a Union minister.
  • State subjects like police, state roads, government schools and hospitals, and land records are handled by your MLA and the state government's own ministers.
  • Court verdicts and pending cases are decided by the independent judiciary; ministers cannot order or overturn them.
  • For the running of a different department, ask the minister who holds THAT portfolio — each minister answers individually for their own ministry, though the whole Cabinet shares responsibility for joint decisions.
  • Day-to-day file work and on-the-ground delivery are done by civil servants (the Secretary and officers), though the minister is still answerable for the results.
  • Purely political-party or election matters are the party's business and the Election Commission's, not official government work.

Sources: Constitution of India, Article 74 (Council of Ministers to aid and advise President) — https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article-74-council-of-ministers-to-aid-and-advise-president/ · Constitution of India, Article 75 (appointment, oath, collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha, must be a member of either House within six months) — https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article-75-other-provisions-as-to-ministers/ · Constitution of India, Articles 77 & 78 (conduct of government business; PM's duty to keep the President informed) and Third Schedule (oath of office and secrecy) — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/15240 · Code of Conduct for Ministers (both Union and State), Ministry of Home Affairs — annual asset/interest disclosure by 31 August and ethical conduct — https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/CodeofConduct2021_29072021.pdf · Prime Minister's Office — Assets and Liabilities of the Union Council of Ministers (published declarations) — https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/assets-and-liabilities-of-the-union-council-of-ministers/

Member of Parliament — Rajya Sabha (Council of States)

A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha helps make national laws for the whole country and speaks up for their state, but is chosen by the state's elected MLAs (or nominated by the President) rather than by voters directly.

You can hold them accountable for

  • Attending sittings of the Rajya Sabha regularly and taking active part in debates, discussions, and voting on Bills and motions (attendance and participation are publicly recorded).
  • Using their law-making powers responsibly — proposing, examining, debating, and voting on national legislation and constitutional amendments in the interest of the country and their State.
  • Representing the concerns and interests of the State they were elected from (or, for nominated members, contributing their special expertise) in national law-making.
  • Scrutinising the government by asking questions, moving motions, and working through parliamentary committees to hold ministers and departments to account.
  • Examining and debating the Union Budget and public spending, and questioning how public money is used.
  • Using their MPLADS entitlement (Rs 5 crore/year) honestly — recommending only eligible public-good works within their State (or anywhere in the country, for nominated members), including the mandated share for Scheduled Caste (15%) and Scheduled Tribe (7.5%) areas, and making sure the money is properly used and audited.
  • Transparency about money and interests — disclosing assets and liabilities and registering personal, pecuniary, or business interests in the Rajya Sabha Register of Members' Interests, and declaring conflicts of interest before speaking or voting.
  • Following the Constitution, the law, and the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Council of States, and respecting the authority of the Chair.
  • Ethical conduct and integrity — behaving honestly, avoiding corruption, and abiding by the code/rules overseen by the Rajya Sabha Ethics Committee (India's first parliamentary Ethics Committee, set up by the Rajya Sabha in 1997).
  • Not misusing the anti-defection rules — abiding by the Tenth Schedule without taking any corrupt inducement to switch sides or votes.
  • Being reachable and responsive to citizens, institutions, and civil society in their State, and communicating their parliamentary work.
  • Delivering on the mandate of any Ministry or department they head IF they are also a Union Minister — answering to Parliament for that portfolio's performance and decisions.
  • Not misusing parliamentary privileges (Article 105) — free speech in the House is protected, but the privilege is meant for genuine legislative work, not to evade accountability.
  • Justifying claims on salary, allowances, and facilities provided under the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954, and using them properly.
What this role covers — and what it does not

What they do

  • Making, amending, and repealing national (Union and Concurrent List) laws, and passing constitutional amendment Bills.
  • Special Rajya Sabha powers: authorising Parliament to legislate on a State List subject in the national interest (Article 249) and to create new All-India Services (Article 312), each by a resolution passed with at least two-thirds of the members present and voting.
  • Scrutiny of the executive through Question Hour, Zero Hour, Special Mentions, motions, and resolutions.
  • Membership and work of parliamentary committees that include Rajya Sabha members — the Department-Related Standing Committees, the Public Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings (note: the Estimates Committee is made up only of Lok Sabha members).
  • Reviewing the Union Budget and financial proposals, and recommending changes to money bills within 14 days (though the Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend them — Article 109).
  • Recommending local development works under MPLADS (Rs 5 crore/year) to the District Authority — within their State, or anywhere in India for nominated members.
  • Taking part in electing the President of India (only elected members vote; nominated members do not) and the Vice-President of India, and in the impeachment or removal processes for the President, judges, and other constitutional authorities.
  • Approving Presidential Proclamations (such as Emergency), international-treaty-related legislation, and other matters requiring parliamentary approval.
  • Raising issues of national and State importance on the floor of the House and putting them on the public record.

Not their job — ask instead

  • Local civic works and services — roads, drains, water supply, streetlights, garbage: these are executed and run by municipal corporations/councils, panchayats, and State line departments, not by an MP. MPLADS only lets an MP recommend and fund some works; ask your local body and the District Authority.
  • Law and order, policing, and crime — handled by the State government and State police (police is a State subject). Escalate to local police, the Superintendent of Police/Commissioner, and the State Home Department.
  • Day-to-day administration and most public services in the State — schools, hospitals, land records, ration cards — run by the State government, its Ministers, and district administration, not by a Rajya Sabha MP.
  • Removing or forming the Union government — a no-confidence motion can only be moved and voted in the Lok Sabha; the Rajya Sabha does not decide who governs. Look to Lok Sabha MPs on that.
  • Constituency-level grievances of the kind handled by MLAs and Lok Sabha MPs — a Rajya Sabha MP represents the State as a whole and has no single geographic constituency of voters.
  • Running a Ministry — a Rajya Sabha MP does NOT head any department unless separately appointed a Union Minister; for a specific portfolio, ask the Minister in charge of that department.
  • Conducting elections or deciding disputes about them — that is the Election Commission of India and the courts, not the MP.

Sources: Constitution of India — Articles 54, 61, 66, 80, 83, 84, 105, 109, 249, 312 (Council of States composition, term, qualifications, privileges, money bills, special powers, and election/removal of the President and Vice-President): https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/ · Rajya Sabha official portal (Digital Sansad) — role, composition, and functioning of the Council of States: https://sansad.in/rs · Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States, and 'Rajya Sabha at Work' (Chapter 2, Composition): https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.in/ · MPLADS Guidelines and scheme details, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Rs 5 crore/year; suspension during 2020 and restoration from November 2021, continuation to 2025-26; district recommendation rules; 15% SC / 7.5% ST): https://mplads.gov.in/ · Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 (pay, allowances, facilities): https://legislative.gov.in/

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