Moves are afoot in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to shift the Question Hour timing from morning to the post-lunch session in the wake of frequent disruptions in both Houses.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Tuesday said that she had begun consultations on rescheduling Question Hour to sometime in the afternoon and hoped the change would happen by the Monsoon Session of Parliament in July. “I have begun consultations on the matter,” she told reporters when asked about moves to have the Question Hour, which starts at 11 am, later in the day. During Question Hour, members raise queries on different aspects of administration and government policy in the national and international spheres.
Ms Kumar said to begin with, she was holding talks with officials and would also consult political parties and the government in this regard. She also viewed that one has to see whether a shifting of the Question Hour would suit ministers. “I hope so,” was her reply when asked whether the new timings for Question Hour would come into effect from the Monsoon Session.
“Various options are being examined to make Question Hour more effective, including shifting of timing if necessary,” Rajya Sabha secretary-general V.K. Agnihotri said. Question Hour could not be taken up for four days in the Lok Sabha and seven days in the Rajya Sabha in the second part of the Budget Session as the Opposition sought to raise various issues.
The idea of shifting Question Hour gained ground during the Budget Session when 115 working hours out of 385 of both the Houses were lost due to frequent disruptions and walkouts.
Stressing the importance of the Question Hour, the Speaker said it was “central to the executive’s accountability to Parliament”.
Ms Kumar hinted at consultations with Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari so that a similar change could be reflected in the functioning of the Upper House.
Of the total 620 starred questions admitted during the Budget session in the Rajya Sabha, only 92, or 14 per cent, were called in the House.
Ministers have to orally respond to starred questions and supplementaries put by members.
In the Lok Sabha, only 12 per cent of starred questions received a verbal response.