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Question 43 of 78 · Union Executive: President, VP & PM
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The Deputy Prime Minister of India from 1979, in the Janata Party government, along with Charan Singh, was:

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Answer: Option A — Jagjivan Ram

Detailed Solution

Jagjivan Ram served as Deputy Prime Minister of India in the Janata Party government of Morarji Desai, from January 1979 to July 1979, alongside Charan Singh.

About Jagjivan Ram:

  • He was born in 1908 at Chandwa in Bihar.
  • He was a prominent leader of the Dalit community and a freedom fighter.
  • He was popularly called "Babuji".
  • He was the youngest member of the interim government formed before independence, holding the labour portfolio.

Long ministerial career:

  • He held several Union ministries for over three decades, including labour, railways, transport and communications, food and agriculture, and defence.
  • He was Defence Minister during the 1971 war, which led to the liberation of Bangladesh.
  • As Agriculture Minister, he played a key role in the Green Revolution.

Political journey:

  • He was a senior Congress leader for many years.
  • In 1977, he left the Congress and formed the Congress for Democracy, which joined the Janata alliance.
  • After the Janata Party won the 1977 elections, he became Defence Minister in Morarji Desai's government.
  • He later became Deputy Prime Minister.

Record in Parliament:

He was a member of Parliament continuously from 1936 to 1986, a very long record.

Legacy:

  • His birth anniversary, 5 April, is celebrated as Samata Diwas (Equality Day).
  • His daughter, Meira Kumar, became the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Office of Deputy Prime Minister:

  • The office of Deputy Prime Minister is not mentioned in the Constitution.
  • A Deputy Prime Minister is just a minister of Cabinet rank, appointed for political reasons.

Why not the other options?

Y.B. Chavan and Devi Lal served as Deputy Prime Ministers at other times.

L.K. Advani was Deputy Prime Minister from 2002 to 2004.

Quick tip

Remember: Jagjivan Ram = Deputy PM in the Janata government (1979); "Babuji"; Samata Diwas on 5 April.

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Union Executive: President, VP & PM — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Union Executive: President, VP & PM, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Union Executive: the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and the Attorney General. It includes their election or appointment, qualifications, powers, removal, and the relationship between the President and the Council of Ministers. Common questions cover the electoral college that elects the President, impeachment under Article 61, the President's ordinance-making power (Article 123) and pardoning power (Article 72), and the fact that the Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Lists of past Presidents and Prime Ministers are also tested. Practise the Union Executive questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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