Constitutional government means

Answer: D. CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT means A GOVERNMENT LIMITED BY THE TERMS OF THE CONSTITUTION. A 'CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT' is a government in which the EXERCISE OF GOVERNMENTAL POWER IS BOUND BY THE RULES AND LIMITATIONS LAID DOWN IN THE CONSTITUTION. This concept stands at the heart of CONSTITUTIONALISM — the doctrine that government, even one acting through elected representatives, should be SUBJECT TO LEGAL LIMITS for the protection of individual rights and the rule of law. Key features of a constitutional government: - POWER IS DERIVED FROM AND CONFINED BY THE CONSTITUTION. - RULE OF LAW prevails — every act of government must have legal authority. - FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS limit what the government can do to individuals. - SEPARATION OF POWERS prevents concentration. - JUDICIAL REVIEW enforces limits on government action. - AMENDMENT PROCEDURES are formalised (and in some systems, certain features are unamendable — India's BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE). - ACCOUNTABILITY of executive to legislature; periodic elections. A government may be NUMERICALLY DEMOCRATIC (elected by majority) but if it ignores constitutional limits — say, by passing laws that violate fundamental rights — it is NOT a constitutional government. **So constitutionalism is the qualitative limit on democracy.** India is a CONSTITUTIONAL government — the Constitution is supreme. Parliament, executive, and judiciary all derive their authority from it. their power is limited by Part III (Fundamental Rights), Part IV (Directive Principles), and the Basic Structure Doctrine. Why other options are WRONG: (A) 'Representative government with federal structure' — federalism is one of many features not the definition of constitutional government. A unitary constitutional government is also a constitutional government (e.g., UK). (B) 'Nominal-power head' — this describes a CEREMONIAL HEAD as in parliamentary systems (UK monarch, Indian President) — but this is about the head's role, not the LIMITS on government. (C) 'Real-power head' — describes a presidential system (US, France) — again, not what makes a government constitutional. Source: syllabus Political Theory / Indian Constitution at Work / Carl Friedrich, 'Constitutional Government and Democracy'.