The makers of our constitution made sure that each arm of power could be held accountable for its actions by the other, by this logic, the executive, is accountable to the legislature for all its actions involving the implementation of laws or policies.
The instruments the legislature uses to exercise these accountabilities are:
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The Parliamentary debates on policies and amendments procedures, by which the legislature gets various points regarding the laws and policies clarified and sometimes amended if necessary. Ex. Land Acquisition Bill was not passed
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The control of the legislature over the spending of government monies, through various committees set up for this purpose.
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Parliament control over taxes, which cannot be imposed without the consent of the parliament.
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Control over major moves by the government, like appointment of the president, amendment of the constitution, declaration of war etc.
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Accountability of the council of ministers to the parliament and the ability of the parliament to express its loss of confidence in the current government.
All these measures make for a system of checks and balances in place thereby preventing the domination of any branch of the government, and ensuring that the country is governed according to the laws and spirit of the constitution.
Financial control:
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Budget discussions, cut motions
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PAC, EC, PSU C analyses reports of
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NHRC, EC, UPSC etc. reports are analysed
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No Confidence motion, censure motion, adjournment motions
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Walk outs
The legislature in parliamentary system ensures executive accountability at various stages: policy making, implementation of law or policy and during and post implementation stage. Discuss the instruments that the legislature uses for this purpose. (200 Words)