During the rule of which central government in India was the Right to Property removed from the list of Fundamental Rights and converted into a legal right?

Introduction / Context:
Originally, the Right to Property was included as a Fundamental Right in Part III of the Constitution of India. Over time, conflicts between land reform policies and this right led to several amendments. Finally, the Right to Property was removed from the list of Fundamental Rights and made a constitutional legal right under a different article. This question tests whether you can identify under which central government this important change took place.

Given Data / Assumptions:

The question asks about the period when Right to Property ceased to be a Fundamental Right.

Options refer to different central governments headed by Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, P. V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

We assume familiarity with constitutional amendments after the Emergency period.

Concept / Approach:
The Right to Property was originally contained in Articles 19 and 31. After many disputes and amendments, the Forty Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 removed it from the list of Fundamental Rights. The same amendment inserted Article 300A in Part XII, which protects property as a legal right rather than a Fundamental Right. The Forty Fourth Amendment was enacted during the rule of the Janata Party government headed by Prime Minister Morarji Desai, which came to power after the Emergency imposed during Indira Gandhi s earlier tenure.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that the Emergency period lasted from 1975 to 1977 during the government of Indira Gandhi. Step 2: After the Emergency, the Janata Party led by Morarji Desai came to power in 1977. Step 3: The new government passed the Forty Fourth Amendment Act in 1978 to restore some democratic safeguards and to modify the status of Right to Property. Step 4: This amendment removed Right to Property from Part III and placed it in Article 300A as a constitutional legal right. Step 5: Therefore, the government in power when this change occurred was the Morarji Desai Government.

Verification / Alternative check:
A cross check is to match amendment numbers with governments. The Forty Second Amendment, which is often called the mini Constitution, was passed during the Emergency under Indira Gandhi. The Forty Fourth Amendment, which reversed some provisions and changed Right to Property, was passed under the subsequent Janata Party government. Governments of Narasimha Rao and Vajpayee came much later in the 1990s. This timeline confirms that the relevant change occurred during the Morarji Desai era.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Indira Gandhi Government: While several amendments affecting property rights were passed during her rule, the complete removal of Right to Property as a Fundamental Right happened under the Forty Fourth Amendment, not under her government.
Narasimha Rao Government: This government functioned in the early 1990s and focused on economic liberalisation, not on changing the status of Right to Property as a Fundamental Right.
Vajpayee Government: This government came later in the late 1990s and early 2000s and did not carry out this particular constitutional change.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes assume that because Indira Gandhi s government introduced many controversial amendments during the Emergency, all major changes must be linked to her period. However, the specific shift of Right to Property from Part III to Article 300A occurred under the government that came to power after the Emergency. To avoid confusion, it is helpful to connect amendment numbers and dates with key political events, such as the end of the Emergency and the rise of the Janata Party.

Final Answer:
The Right to Property was removed from the list of Fundamental Rights during the rule of the Morarji Desai Government through the Forty Fourth Amendment.