Question Hour and Zero Hour in Monsoon Session

Context

Parliament summoned for monsoon session with no Question Hour and the restricted Zero Hour.

BackgroundThere will be no Question Hour and the curtailed Zero Hour and no private members'' bills during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha secretariats have decided owing to the prevailing extraordinary situation due to COVID-19. Except for the first day, the Rajya Sabha will sit in the morning shift and the Lok Sabha will sit in the evening.

Question Hour and Its Significance

The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is assigned to raise questions to the executive is called the Question Hour. During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers. The questions raised in this hour are of three types that are, Starred, Unstarred and Short notice.

• Starred question requires an oral answer and hence supplementary questions can follow.
• Unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence, supplementary questions cannot follow.
• Short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of less than ten days. It is answered orally.

In this hour Members of Parliament by raising questions to the ministers, hold them accountable for the functioning of their respective ministries. Question Hour is a very important tool to draw the attention of the Minister for important public matter. It also helps in knowing the seriousness and the action taken by the ministry for any matter.

In the last 70 years, Question Hour has proved to be a successfull parliamentary device to shine a light on government functioning. Their questions have exposed financial irregularities and brought data and information regarding government functioning to the public domain. With the broadcasting of Question Hour since 1991, Question Hour has become one the most visible aspects of parliamentary functioning.

Asking questions of the government has a long history in our legislative bodies. Prior to Independence, the first question asked of government was in 1893. It was on the burden cast on village shopkeepers who had to provide supplies to touring government officers.

Zero Hour and Its Significance

Similar to Question Hour, Zero Hour is also a important tool to raise matters of public importance. The zero hour is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure. It is an informal device available to the Members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice. The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day (ie, regular business of the House) is taken up. In other words, the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known as zero hour.

It is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence since 1962. The opportunity for MPs to raise national issues without an advance notice became available at 12 pm and could last for an hour until the House adjourned for lunch. This led to the hour being popularly referred to as Zero Hour and the issues being raised during this time as Zero Hour submissions. Over the years, presiding officers of both Houses have given directions to streamline the working of Zero Hour to make it even more beneficial.

For raising matters during the Zero Hour, MPs give notice before 10 am to the Speaker on the day of the sitting. The notice must state the subject they wish to raise in the House. The Speaker decides whether to allow the matter to be raised. Short notice questions too are taken up during the Zero Hour.

Previous Sessions without Question Hour

During the time of Chinese aggression in 1962, the Winter Session was advanced. The sitting of the House started at 12 pm and there was no Question Hour held. Before the session, changes were made limiting the number of questions. Thereafter, following an agreement between the ruling and the Opposition parties, it was decided to suspend Question Hour.

Conclusion

Parliament is the highest law making body in the country. In addition to its legislative function, it keeps a check on the functioning of the government and passes the country’s budget. As a representative institution, it also highlights important issues being faced by the people. These four responsibilities have been entrusted to both Houses of Parliament by the Constitution. The fulfillment of this mandate is dependent upon the effective use of devices like Question Hour and Zero Hour, Hence the curtailment of these would amount to limited representation of citizens.

Connecting the Article

Question for Prelims

With reference to the Question Hour, consider the following statements:

1. It is the first hour of sitting of Parliament.
2. In this hour questions can be raised only by ministers.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Question for Mains

Examine the importance of Zero Hour and Question Hour in the parliamentary form of democracy.