Lok Sabha speaker begins consultations for change in Question Hour time
The idea of shifting the 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.
Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar today said she has begun consultations on changing the time of the Question Hour to prevent frequent disruptions and hoped the shift to happen before the Monsoon session in July."I have begun consultations on the matter," she told reporters when asked about moves to have the Question Hour in the post-lunch session.Kumar said to begin with she was holding talks with officials and would also consult political parties and the government in this regard."I hope so," was her reply when asked whether the new timings for the Question Hour would come into effect from the Monsoon session.Question Hour could not be taken up for four days in the Lok Sabha and seven days in the Rajya Sabha in the second partof the Budget session as opposition sought to raise variousissues.The idea of shifting the 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."Kumar hinted at consultations with Rajya Sabha chairmanHamid Ansari so that a similar change could be reflected inthe functioning of the Upper House.Of the total 620 starred questions admitted during the Budget session in the Rajya Sabha, only 92, or 14%, were called in the House.In the Lok Sabha, only 12% of starred questions received a verbal response.