Question Hour in Parliament

• Context (IE): The Delhi Assembly has not had a single Question Hour this year.

About Question Hour

• It is a one-hour time period provided to MPs to ask questions to the minister and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries.
• When in session, Lok Sabha generally starts with Question Hour.
  • In Rajya Sabha it is held from 11 am to 12 noon (since 2014).
• Prior to Independence, the first question asked of government was in 1893.
• MPs can submit their question notices in two ways:
  1. Through online ‘Member’s Portal,’ using their ID and password.
  2. Fill out printed forms obtainable from the Parliamentary Notice Office.
• Presiding officers of the two houses are the final authority with respect to the conduct of Question Hour.
• There is no Question Hour on the day the President addresses MPs from both Houses in the Central Hall & on the day the Finance Minister presents the Budget.

Procedure for Raising Questions

• It is governed by:
  • Rules 32 to 54 of the “Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in LS”
  • Directions 10 to 18 of the “Directions by the Speaker, LS“
• To ask a question, an MP has to give a notice to the Secretary-General of LS.
• Usually questions must usually be notified at least 15 days in advance.
• A Member can submit up to 5 question notices, including oral and written answers, for any given day.
• If there are more than 5 notices, the extras are considered for the following day(s) during the same session for that Minister.
• The Speaker examines the notices of the questions and determines whether a question is admissible.

Different Types of Questions

• There are four different types of questions:
  1. Starred
  2. Unstarred
  3. Short-notice questions
  4. Questions addressed to private Members.

Starred Questions

• A starred question is asked by an MP and answered orally by the Minister-in-charge.
• Each MP is allowed to ask one starred question per day.
• Starred questions must be submitted at least 15 days in advance, and only 20 questions can be listed for oral answers daily.
• When a question is answered orally, supplementary questions can be asked thereon.

Unstarred Question

• An unstarred question receives a written reply from the Ministry.
• These also need to be submitted at least 15 days in advance.
• Only 230 questions can be listed for written answers in a day.
• Unlike starred questions, unstarred questions don’t permit any follow-up questions.

Short Notice Questions

• Short notice questions are ones pertaining to a matter of urgent public importance.
• They can be asked with less than ten days’ notice, with reasons for the short notice.
• Like a starred question, they are answered orally, followed by supplementary questions.