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Question 47 of 78 · Union Executive: President, VP & PM
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The only person to serve as acting Prime Minister of India twice was:

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Answer: Option C — Gulzarilal Nanda

Detailed Solution

Gulzarilal Nanda served as acting Prime Minister twice, each time for about 13 days, after the deaths of two sitting Prime Ministers.

The two occasions:

  • First, from 27 May to 9 June 1964, after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru.
  • Second, from 11 January to 24 January 1966, after the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent.
  • On both occasions, he was sworn in as interim Prime Minister until the Congress party elected a new leader.

About Gulzarilal Nanda:

  • He was born in 1898 at Sialkot, now in Pakistan.
  • He was an economist who specialised in labour problems.
  • He worked with Mahatma Gandhi in the labour movement in Ahmedabad and was associated with the Textile Labour Association.
  • He was the first Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and played a key role in the early Five Year Plans.
  • He held important ministries, including labour, planning and home affairs.

Honours:

  • He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1997.
  • He was known for his simple lifestyle and honesty.

Why acting Prime Ministers are appointed:

  • When a Prime Minister dies in office, the Council of Ministers is dissolved.
  • The President appoints a senior minister as Prime Minister until the ruling party elects a new leader.
  • Such a person is called an acting or interim Prime Minister.

Who succeeded Nanda:

  • In 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri became Prime Minister.
  • In 1966, Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister.

Other Prime Ministers who died in office:

  • Jawaharlal Nehru (1964), Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966) and Indira Gandhi (1984) died while in office.
  • After Indira Gandhi's assassination, Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in directly as Prime Minister, without an acting Prime Minister.

Why not the other options?

Morarji Desai, Jagjivan Ram and Y.B. Chavan were senior leaders, but none of them served as acting Prime Minister.

Quick tip

Remember: Gulzarilal Nanda = acting PM twice (1964 after Nehru, 1966 after Shastri), 13 days each.

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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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