Difference between President and Prime Minister
In several countries like Indonesia and the United States, the President performs the role of both State Head and Government leader. In India, the President is elected by the legislative assembly and appoints the Prime Minister. However, it is also important for the Prime Minister to get a nod from the members of Lok Sabha, who the people elect.
Difference between President and Prime Minister PDF
To be elected as a Prime Minister in India, the individual should be a citizen of India and a member of either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. Let us learn the difference between President and Prime Minister based on their roles and responsibilities, appointments, powers, etc in the table below.
President vs Prime Minister
The following table lists the key differences between Prime Minister and President:
Position | President | Prime Minister |
Referred to as | The first citizen of the country, OR, Head of the state or a country | Leader of the central government, OR, Most powerful person in the country |
Head | Head of the state or a country | Head of the Government or the Council of Ministers |
Role | Plays an important role in passing bills related to reformation or making laws | Plays an important role in deciding policies and laws |
Appointed by | The President is elected by the legislative assembly and parliament | The Prime Minister is appointed by the president The Prime Minister also needs the majority of Lok Sabha who are elected by the people |
Party | The President does not belong to any party | The Prime Minister represents the party that has achieved the highest votes during the elections of the Lok Sabha |
Power of Declaring a State of Emergency | The President can declare a state of emergency | The Prime Minister does not have the power to declare a state of emergency |
First leaders of India | Rajendra Prasad | Jawaharlal Nehru |
Current in India | Currently, Droupadi Murmu is serving as the President of India | Currently, Mr Narendra Modi is serving the country as the Prime Minister |
Powers of President and Prime Minister
The President of India is entitled to legislative, executive, and judicial powers by the Indian Constitution. He is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of India. He appoints Governors of the States, Attorney General, the Chief Justice of India, High Court Judges, Judges of the Supreme Court, etc. To know who is bigger, President or Prime Minister, look at their powers listed below.
President:
- The President of India can give commands to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as postpone it.
- Bills can become laws only after they are signed and approved by him/her.
- He/She can impose state emergency and national emergency under Article 356 and Article 352, respectively.
- He/She can also declare a financial emergency under Article 360.
- He/She can grant an award, pardon, revoke, or remission of a person, and can minimize the sentence of death of a person.
Prime Minister:
- PM gives recommendations to the President to appoint ministers.
- He can ask any minister to resign at any time as per his will or can ask President to dismiss any minister if such a situation occurs.
- In the meetings of the council of ministers, Prime Minister’s decision is the final.
- Allocations or reshuffling of departments of Ministers can be done anytime by the PM.
- He plays the role of a guide, leader, director, etc to other ministers.
Who is More Powerful President or Prime Minister?
In a country like India with a Parliamentary form of Government, it is difficult to have 1 right answer for this question. President is the nominal head and the first citizen of the country, but the Prime Minister is the leader of the Government. So, actual power lies with the Prime Minister of India.
But, as per the Indian Constitution, President is the one who appoints the Prime Minister and has the power to dismiss PM at any time, which makes him/her more powerful.
Relationship between President and Prime Minister
In a country like India, where the role of Prime Minister and President is clearly defined, it is important to understand the relationship between the two in terms of working.
- The Prime Minister serves as a communication channel between the President of India and the council of ministers.
- On the advice of the PM, President appoints the Attorney General of India, Chairman of various commissions, CAG, etc.
- Prime Minister plays an active role in giving advice to the President about the postponement, summoning, and dissolving of sessions of Parliament.
Summary:
There is a difference between President and Prime Minister based on the role, power, and position. Both are important leaders of the country. Both leaders try to make their countries self-reliant and prosperous. Although both the positions have overlapping authorities, there are still several points that highlight the difference between them which have been discussed in detail in this article.
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