If Parliament does not control government expenditure, which democratic principle would weaken?

Correct answer: Financial accountability

Correct answer: A. Government spends public money collected through taxes and other public revenues. In a democracy, Parliament examines proposed expenditure, authorises public spending through the budgetary process, and checks how money has been used. This makes the executive answerable to elected representatives and helps prevent secret, wasteful, or unauthorised spending. That principle is financial accountability. Option B, secret ballot, protects the privacy of a voter’s choice during elections. Option C, adult franchise, means eligible adult citizens have the right to vote. Option D, federalism, concerns the constitutional division of powers between the Union and the states. None of these directly describes legislative control over public money. Memory cue: “Control of the public purse creates accountability.”