Peeved over the decision to shuffle the timing of Question Hour and Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha from the next session, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress members on Tuesday urged the Chair to reconsider it.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Naresh Agarwal (SP) said as per rules, Zero Hour cannot be held at 11 am as decided on Monday, adding it will be “invalid and void”. His party leader Ramgopal Yadav and Subbarami Reddy (Congress) supported him.
In an apparent move to ensure smooth functioning of the House, the General Purposes Committee of Rajya Sabha headed by Chairman Hamid Ansari decided that the House will have its Question Hour at 12 noon from the next session of Parliament while the Zero Hour was been slotted for 11 am — when the House meets for the day. The Committee also decided that henceforth the House, which usually sat from 11 am to five pm will now sit up to six pm. Agarwal contended there is “no rule” for Zero Hour in the rulebook of Parliament and it has been adopted from British Parliamentary practice, where Zero hour happens at 12:00 noon.
“The decision to change the timing should be reconsidered. In none of the State Assemblies, Zero Hour takes place at 11 am. Even in lok Sabha, the Zero Hour takes place at 12 noon”, the SP leader insisted.
Deputy Chairman of RS, P J Kurien said the Rule Committee of RS is empowered to change any Parliamentary rule and if any rule is amended, the House has to approve it after the Committee takes a decision. A few years back, the Question Hour in RS was shifted for a few days to 2-3 pm when the Upper House was witnessing frequent adjournments over various issues and the Question Hour had become a casualty.