JATIN GUPTA

Parliamentary
Functioning
Indian Polity and Constitution
“Question hour can send tremor waves across the entire
Council of Ministers.” In this context discuss the importance of
question hour and some of the concerns related to its
functioning in the recent past.
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Presiding Officers for Lok Sabha
There are two Presiding officers in the Lok Sabha i.e. Speaker and Deputy
Speaker.
There are no prescribed qualifications for the Presiding Officer except
being a member of the house.
As per convention, the deputy speaker is from the opposition.
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The Speaker shall continue to hold the position till the first sitting of the
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newly elected LS.

In case the speaker resigns from the position before the new LS is elected,
the Deputy Speaker shall perform the role of Speaker.
Pro Tem Speaker
As per the second proviso to article 94 of the Constitution, the office of
the Speaker becomes vacant immediately before the first meeting of the
new Lok Sabha. In that case, the duties of the Speaker are to be
performed by a Member of the House appointed for this purpose by the
President as Speaker pro tem.
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The Constitution does not expressly use the term ‘Pro-tem Speaker’.

Pro-tem Speaker is a temporary speaker appointed for a limited time

period to conduct proceedings in Parliament. A pro-tem Speaker is
ordinarily elected for the first sitting of a new legislative assembly where
the Speaker is yet to be elected.
Functions of Pro Tem Speaker
The main duty of the pro-tem speaker is to administer the oath of office
to new members of the house.

He also enables the House to elect the new speaker.

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Once the new speaker is elected, the office of the pro-tem speaker ceases
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to exist.
Removal of Presiding Officer:
The Speaker and a Deputy Speaker can be removed as per a resolution
passed by the House with a majority of the then membership of the
House.
Such a resolution must be moved by giving at least 14 days' notice.
While the motion for the removal is under consideration, the Speaker
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shall not preside over the proceedings of the House but can take part in
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the proceedings as a member.

He can vote in the first instance but does not have a casting vote in case of
a tie
The Speaker of LS can submit his resignation to the DS but he must also
inform the President of India about the same.
Functions and Responsibilities of Presiding Officers (PO):
Decides upon the disqualification under the anti-defection law.
Responsible for maintaining the decorum in House. In case of indiscipline
by a member, may even take disciplinary action against the erring
member including suspension or expulsion from the House.
Final interpreter of the laws, rules, regulations and constitution within the
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House.
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Empowered to adjourn the House and to suspend its sitting in the event
of the absence of a quorum.
Decides the time to be allocated to the members to speak in the House.
Has the discretion over acceptance or rejection of the various motions in
the House.
He is the final authority in accepting or rejecting the point of order raised
in the House.
Functions and Responsibilities of Presiding Officers (PO):
Supposed to ensure the proper and smooth functioning of the House so
that the Parliament can continue to enforce accountability on the
executive.
In case of a tie in the House, he is supposed to make a casting vote in the
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The Speaker is also the chair of the Business Advisory Committee, which
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is responsible for deciding the business of the House and allocating time
for the same.
The Speaker also chairs the General Purposes Committee and the Rules
Committee of the Lok Sabha and appoints the chairpersons of other
committees amongst the members.
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Somewhere in Australian Parliament

Question hour
It is an important tool in the hands of the Parliament to hold the
executive accountable for its actions.
The MPs may post a question related to laws and policies under the
control of various ministries.
The members may pose questions to the private members as well related
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to private member bills and the functioning of the committees of the

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Parliament.
These questions can be classified into three categories: Starred, Unstarred
and Short Notice Questions.
Question hour
(i) Starred Questions – If a Starred Question is asked, this means that the
Member who asks the question wants an oral answer from the concerned
Minister. The Minister’s answer may be followed by other additional
questions by Members.
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(ii) Unstarred Questions – An Unstarred Question does not need an oral

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answer, and the question will get a written answer which will be submitted to
the Parliament by the concerned Minister. In this case, no additional
questions can be asked.

(iii) Short Notice Questions – These are questions asked on matters of public
importance which need to be addressed urgently, within a shorter time
period than ordinary questions. Like a Starred Question, a Short Notice
Question is answered orally, and can be followed by additional questions.
Importance of Question Hour

It ensures legislative control over the executive and keeps the ministers
on their toes as their answers are widely publicised for public
consumption and scrutiny.
It is an effective method of ensuring checks and balances on thea il . co
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functioning of the executive.

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It acts as a deterrent for the government to involve itself in financial

misdoings.
Government remains in touch with the issues faced by the people
Ministers can become aware of many loopholes which they might have
overlooked.
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Rules regarding Question Hour
They have to be precise and not too general.
The question should also be related to an area of responsibility of the
Government of India.
Questions should not seek information about matters that are secret or
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It is the presiding officers of the two Houses who finally decide whether a
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question raised by an MP will be admitted for answering by the

government.
Issues related to Question Hour

It has been the biggest casualty of parliament disruption in India.

A large portion of time allocated to the question hour has been wasted
due to a ruckus in the Parliament. For example in 2015, 26% of the time
allocated to question hour was utilised for asking the question. In 2020,
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this number stood at 20%

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Recently, the Business Advisory Committee of LS even suspended the

question hour due to COVID-19
In the past, the MPs have been found guilty of asking the questions after
taking money during the question hour
Many MPs do not use the opportunity provided during the question hour
due to several reasons including lack of research and support staff
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Time Wasted on the Question Hour

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Question Hour
Functioning of the Parliament

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Zero Hour
The Zero Hour is usually used to raise matters that are urgent and cannot
wait for the notice period required under other procedures.

For raising matters during the Zero Hour, MPs give notice before 10 am
to the Chairman on the day of the sitting. The notice must state the
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subject they wish to raise in the House.

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The Chairman decides whether to allow the matter to be raised.

Short notice questions too are taken up during the Zero Hour.
Legislative Business

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Legislative Business

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THANK YOU
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Email Address
[email protected]