President's Rule
President's Rule refers to Article 356 of the Constitution of India deals with the failure of the
Constitutional machinery of an Indian state. In the event that government in a state is not able to
function as per the Constitution, the state comes under the direct control of the central
government, with executive authority exercised through the Governor instead of a Council of
Ministers headed by an elected Chief Minister accountable to the state legislature.
Article 356 is invoked if there has been failure of the constitutional machinery in any state of India.
During President's Rule, the Governor has the authority to appoint retired civil servants or other
administrators, to assist him. These advisors assume the functions of State's Council of Ministers.
Imposition of President's Rule
In practice president's rule has been imposed under different circumstances such as these:
State Legislature is unable to elect a leader as Chief Minister
Breakdown of a coalition
Elections postponed for unavoidable reasons
Most often, until the mid-1990s, it was imposed in states through abuse of the authority of
Governors in collusion with the federal government. However, following a landmark judgment by
the Supreme Court of India in March 1994, such abuse has been reduced drastically.
Instances of President's Rule
Andhra State
15 Nov 1954 to 29 Mar 1955 due to Loss of Majority.
Andhra Pradesh 11 Jan 1973 to 10 Dec 1973 due to Break down of Law & Order due to Jai Andhra
Agitation, in P. V. Narasimha Rao's tenure.
Andhra Pradesh 28 Feb 2014-Political Deadlock following the resignation of Chief Minister Kiran
Kumar Reddy and several others, both from the Government and the Party after the Indian
Parliament passed Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill meant to carve out a
separate Telangana State.
Criticism
Article 356 gave wide powers to the central government to assert its authority over a state if civil
unrest occurred and the state government did not have the means to end the unrest. This is one of
the articles that gave the Indian constitution some amount of unitary character. Though the
purpose of this article is to give more powers to central government to preserve the unity and
integrity of the nation, it has often been misused by the ruling parties at the center. It has been
used as a pretext to dissolve state governments ruled by political opponents. Thus, it is seen by
many as a threat to the federal state system. Since the adoption of Indian constitution in 1950, the
central government has used this article several times to dissolve elected state governments and
impose President's rule.