The Disciplinary Committee of Nation Political Party (NPP) is meeting today to decide on the future of two of their party members, Mr. Loyal and his son Mr. Prodigal. Mr. Prodigal is the prime accused in the brutal murder of Mr. Victim, an opposition party leader. Mr. Prodigal is in police custody and his appeal for bail has got rejected. Mr. Loyal claims that his son is innocent and Mr. Victim’s death was the result of internal rivalry in the opposition party. Though Mr. Loyal is not accused in this case, his weakness for his son is well known. The media is blaming him for influencing key witnesses to protect his son. Severe criticism of his father-son duo, both by the media and some social activists, is damaging the image of the party. However, Mr. Loyal has significant followers within the party and is considered an asset to the party. Any harsh decision against Mr. Loyal would adversely affect the future of NPP and could even lead to a split in the party. This would benefit the opposition.
Which of the following actions would adversely affect both NPP and Mr. Loyal, the most?
Show Hint
- Take no action against Mr. Loyal.
- Suspend Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect.
- Expel Mr. Loyal from the party with immediate effect.
- Ban Mr. Loyal from entering party premises till completion of court proceedings.
- Initiate an internal inquiry to find the truth.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
If he is expelled from the party, his political career, credibility, and influence will suffer the maximum blow. This is a permanent and damaging action against him.
Step 2: Analyze the consequences for NPP.
NPP loses a loyal and experienced member. Immediate expulsion may also create negative publicity, political backlash, and rifts within the party. Thus, the party also suffers heavily.
Step 3: Evaluate other options.
(A) Taking no action → may harm credibility but does not deeply harm Mr. Loyal. ✗
(B) Suspending Mr. Prodigal → unrelated to Mr. Loyal and affects NPP less. ✗
(D) Banning from premises → temporary measure, less damaging than expulsion. ✗
(E) Internal inquiry → balanced approach; least adverse impact. ✗
Step 4: Conclusion.
The strongest adverse effect on both NPP and Mr. Loyal comes from: \[ \boxed{\text{Expelling Mr. Loyal from the party with immediate effect.}} \]
At the Disciplinary Committee meeting, members came up with the following suggestions. Which of the following suggestions would harm the party, the least?
Show Hint
- Maintain status-quo
- Expel Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect to maintain party’s clean image
- Initiate an internal inquiry to find the truth
- Suspend Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect but announce that he will be taken back if the court declares him innocent.
- Suspend both Mr. Loyal and Mr. Prodigal from the party with immediate effect.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
(A) Maintaining the status quo risks being seen as inactive or defensive, harming the party’s credibility.
(B) Expelling Mr. Prodigal immediately projects a clean image but may be harsh if later proven innocent, causing internal dissent or injustice.
(C) Starting an internal inquiry shows responsibility but may appear too slow to act under public scrutiny, risking loss of reputation.
(D) Suspending Mr. Prodigal with the option of reinstatement if acquitted strikes a balance: it preserves the party’s clean image while leaving room for fairness if he is cleared.
(E) Suspending both Mr. Loyal and Mr. Prodigal unfairly implicates an innocent member (Mr. Loyal), causing unnecessary damage. Therefore, the action that would harm the party the least is option (D). \[ \boxed{\text{Suspend with conditional reinstatement (Option D)}} \]
Mr. Opportunist, a veteran member of NPP, stakes his claims to be nominated as an NPP candidate in the upcoming election.
Mr. Opportunist presented the following arguments in favour of his candidature to the NPP Executive Committee.
I. Mr. Loyal’s candidature in the upcoming election will adversely impact NPP’s chances. Hence, the party should not nominate him.
II. The party should call a press conference to disown Mr. Loyal. This would enhance the party’s image.
III. The party would not be able to take any disciplinary action against Mr. Loyal, if he gets re-elected.
IV. I have a lot of goodwill and significant followers in the constituency,
V. None of my close relatives are into active politics.
Which of the following combinations would best strengthen the claim of Mr. Opportunist?
Show Hint
- I & III
- I & IV
- II & III
- II & V
- IV & V
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
- Argument IV highlights Mr. Opportunist's goodwill and significant following, which adds weight to his claim to be nominated.
- Option B (I & IV) combines these two strong points, reinforcing Mr. Opportunist's case. Other combinations either focus too much on Mr. Loyal's actions or irrelevant personal details. \[ \boxed{B} \]
The Disciplinary Committee has decided to suspend Mr. Loyal from the party because they felt he was influencing the judicial process. However, Mr. Loyal feels that the committee is biased and he is being framed. Now, election has been announced. The last time, Mr. Loyal had won with a majority on account of his good work. Which of the following options is most likely to resurrect Mr. Loyal’s immediate political career?
Show Hint
- The main opposition party has invited Mr. Loyal to join the party and contest the election. Chance of winning is high.
- Not participation in the campaign and instructing his followers to stay away from the campaigning process.
- Ask his followers to support the NPP nominated candidate and display his loyalty to NPP.
- Mr. Loyal should contest as an independent candidate. But because of a split in votes, his chances of winning would be low.
- Influence the nomination process through his followers within NPP, to get one of his close associates nominated.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
To revive his immediate political career, he needs a platform with high chances of winning.
- Option A: Joining the main opposition party and contesting with their backing gives him organizational strength, resources, and voter credibility. Since his personal popularity is already high, this maximizes his winning prospects.
- Option B: Staying away from campaigning effectively ends his career in the short term.
- Option C: Supporting another candidate shows loyalty but does not secure his immediate political career.
- Option D: Contesting independently risks vote splitting and lowers chances of success.
- Option E: Influencing nominations for an associate does not directly help Mr. Loyal personally in this election.
Thus, the best immediate option for Mr. Loyal to resurrect his career is to accept the opposition’s invitation.
\[ \boxed{\text{Joining the opposition party and contesting the election (Option A) is the best strategy.}} \]
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
Trade is essentially the buying and selling of items produced elsewhere. All the services in retail and wholesale trading or commerce are specifically intended for profit. The towns and cities where all these works take place are known as trading centres. The rise of trading from barter at the local level to money-exchange on an international scale has produced many centres and institutions, such as trading centres or collection and distribution points.
Trading centres may be divided into rural and urban marketing centres. Rural marketing centres cater to nearby settlements. These are quasi-urban centres. They serve as trading centres of the most rudimentary type. Here, personal and professional services are not well-developed. These form local collecting and distributing centres. Most of these have mandis (wholesale markets) and also retailing areas. They are not urban centres per se but are significant centres for making available goods and services which are most frequently demanded by rural folk.
Periodic markets in rural areas are found where there are no regular markets and local periodic markets are organised at different temporal intervals. These may be weekly, bi-weekly markets where people from the surrounding areas meet their temporally accumulated demand. These markets are held on specified dates and move from one place to another. The shopkeepers, thus, remain busy all day while a large area is served by them.
Urban marketing centres have more widely specialised urban services. They provide ordinary goods and services as well as many of the specialised goods and services required by people. Ur- ban centres, therefore, offer manufactured goods as well as many specialised developed markets, e.g. markets for labour, housing, semi-or finished products. Services of educational institutions and professionals such as teachers, lawyers, consultants, physicians, dentists and veterinary doctors are available.- CUET (UG) - 2025
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The art of paper making was introduced into India by the 11th century CE, perhaps from China through Nepal. The earliest extant Indian paper manuscript is dateable to 1105 CE; it was made from the fibers of a mountain plant. By the later half of the 15th century, Kashmir was producing paper of attractive quality from the pulps of rags and hemp, with lime and soda added to whiten the pulp. Sialkot, Zafarabad, Patna, Murshidabad, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad and Mysore were among the well- known centers of paper production.- CUET (UG) - 2025
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Match the following renowned Indian personalities with their respective awards.
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The diagram below represents a road network connecting five towns, namely Meeren, Lannisport, Winterfell, Oldtown, and Gulltown. The maximum speed limits along any stretch of road are as shown in the diagram. The straight road that connects Meeren to Gulltown passes through Oldtown. Another straight road, running west to east, connecting Meeren to Winterfell, passes through Lannisport. Further, two straight roads, one from Lannisport to Oldtown and another from Winterfell to Gulltown, are perpendicular to the road joining Meeren to Winterfell, and run from south to north.
Consider a car always travelling at the maximum permissible speed, and always taking the shortest route. It takes 1 hour to reach Oldtown from Meeren, 2 hours to reach Gulltown from Oldtown, and 45 minutes to reach Winterfell from Gulltown. (For this problem, always consider the shortest route in terms of distance.)
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