Answer briefly each of the questions (a) to (j):
What is meant by the 'Collective Responsibility' of the Cabinet?
Topic: Collective responsibility
Answer
Collective responsibility means that the ministers are responsible to the Lok Sabha AS A SINGLE BODY, not individually. Decisions taken in Cabinet bind every minister, who must defend them in public whatever his private opinion, or resign.
Its consequence is that if the Lok Sabha passes a vote of no confidence — even against a single minister — the ENTIRE Council of Ministers must resign together (Article 75(3)). They swim and sink together.
The consequence is what earns the mark: the WHOLE ministry falls, not merely the minister concerned. Saying only "they are responsible together" explains nothing. The phrase "they swim and sink together" is worth quoting; examiners recognise it at once. This point is tested in almost every year of this paper, usually in the form of the question about a No Confidence motion.