The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through
- Adjournment motion
- Question hour
- Supplementary questions
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Explanation
The adjournment motion is correct
- It is introduced in the Parliament to draw the attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance, and needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.
- As it interrupts the normal business of the House, it is regarded as an extraordinary device. It involves an element of censure against the government and hence Rajya Sabha is not permitted to make use of this device. The discussion on an adjournment motion should last for not less than two hours and thirty minutes.
- The right to move a motion for an adjournment of the business of the House is subject to the following restrictions:
- It should raise a matter which is definite, factual, urgent and of public importance;
- It should not cover more than one matter;
- It should be restricted to a specific matter of recent occurrence and should not be framed in general terms;
- It should not raise a question of privilege;
- It should not revive discussion on a matter that has been discussed in the same session;
- It should not deal with any matter that is under adjudication by court; and
- It should not raise any question that can be raised on a distinct motion.
Question hour and supplementary questions are correct
- The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this.
- It is during this one hour that Members of Parliament ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries.
- The questions are of three kinds, namely, starred, unstarred and short notice. A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence supplementary questions can follow.
- An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence, supplementary questions cannot follow.
- A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of less than ten days. It is answered orally. In addition to the ministers, the questions can also be asked to the private members.
