Opposition parties have questioned the government’s move to do away with the Question Hour in the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Parliament, which is set to begin on September 14. The session, which is being held amidst the pandemic, will see the Lok Sabha sit from 9 am to 1 pm on the first day and from 3 pm to 7 pm till October 1. Rajya Sabha will sit from 3 pm to 7 pm on the first day and 9 am to 1 pm during the rest of the session. The seating arrangements will follow norms of social distancing. The session will not have Quesiton Hour, which is the first one hour where members are allowed to ask questions to the government.
The Zero Hour, where members are allowed to raise matters, has been cut short to 30 minutes and there will be no Private Members' business.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter to accuse the government of trying to “reduce Parliament to a notice-board” by removing Question Hour and doing away with the “one mechanism to promote accountability.”
“I said four months ago that strongmen leaders would use the excuse of the pandemic to stifle democracy and dissent. The notification for the delayed Parliament session blandly announces there will be no Question Hour. How can this be justified in the name of keeping us safe?” Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
“Questioning the government is the oxygen of parliamentary democracy. This Govt seeks to reduce Parliament to a notice-board and uses its crushing majority as a rubber-stamp for whatever it wants to pass. The one mechanism to promote accountability has now been done away with (sic),” he added.
2/2 Questioning the government is the oxygen of parliamentary democracy. This Govt seeks to reduce Parliament to a notice-board & uses its crushing majority as a rubber-stamp for whatever it wants to pass. The one mechanism to promote accountability has now been done away with.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 2, 2020
BJP govt’s decision to suspend the Question Hour for an entire session conveys just one message – “Even elected representatives have no right to question the government”.
— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) September 2, 2020
Hon'ble @loksabhaspeaker sir separation of powers is part of basic structure of Constitution. Parliament has the power & duty to question the govt. We're elected to ask questions & hold the govt accountable. A session that takes up only govt business prevents us from doing so
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 2, 2020
If this is true, it is not just a violation of a member’s right,but it also means that Govt is uncomfortable answering questions on their Governance. Govt is answerable to people & any move to cancel Question Hour reflects the autocratic mindset of Govt https://t.co/P6i6TD0hh3
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 2, 2020
TMC MP Derek O' Brien also tweeted his disappointment over the cancellation of the Question Hour and accused the government of using the pandemic as “an excuse to murder democracy.”
“MPs required to submit Qs for Question Hour in #Parliament 15 days in advance. Session starts 14 Sept. So Q Hour cancelled ? Oppn MPs lose right to Q govt. A first since 1950 ? Parliament overall working hours remain same so why cancel Q Hour?Pandemic excuse to murder democracy,” O’Brien tweeted.
A few days ago, the Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding that Question Hour be held in the upcoming Parliament session.
In the letter to the Speaker, Chowdhury said halting the Question Hour and the Zero Hour would not be in the interest of elected representatives, especially in the current times of COVID-19. "There appears to be a proposal for curtailing the Question Hour as well as the Zero Hour during the Session by way of restricting the allocation of time as well as the number of notices that could be filed by the members," he had said.
CPI MP Binoy Viswam has written to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and stated that these procedures and processes are integral to the democratic functioning of the parliament and have never been done away with in the history of Independent India.
“By introducing these changes, the Government has effectively ensured that its accountability to the Parliament and to the people is done away with. This is especially problematic given the life changing events that have taken place in the last 5 months across all facets of life,” the MP said in his letter.
“The use of the Covid-19 pandemic to subvert democratic traditions and practices cannot be accepted The Parliament of India is the epitome of representation of the Indian people and the Government cannot shy away from being accountable to the representatives of the people,” he said, adding that the suspension of the Question Hour and Private Members business is “completely unjust and must be reinstated immediately.”
However, there seems to be some opposition parties which have agreed with the government’s decision. According to reports, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar has accepted the reason given by the government in deciding to scrap the Question Hour.