How important is the parliamentary question hour in the control of the legislature over the executive in the parliamentary democracies like India?

Question Hour is the first hour of a sitting session of India's Lok Sabha devoted to questions that Members of Parliament raise about any aspect of administrative activity. The concerned Minister is obliged to answer to the Parliament, either orally or in writing, depending on the type of question raised. Questions are one of the ways Parliament can hold the Executive accountable.

There are four types of question—Starred, non-starred, short notice question and questions to private members.

1. Starred Questions are those for which an oral answer is expected. The member is allowed to ask supplementary questions after the reply is obtained from the Minister concerned.
2. Non-starred questions are those for which a written reply is expected.
3. Short notice questions are those which are asked on matters of urgent public importance and thus, can be asked on a shorter notice i.e. less than 10 days.
   These questions can be answered orally and supplementary questions can be asked.

    

4. Questions to private members are those which are asked to members who are not ministers. These questions are related to private member bill, parliamentary committees, private member resolutions.

It has been the experience that question hour enables the house to elicit information. Sometimes, the minister may give information that may inconvenience him and lead to his resignation. Information may also show the government’s inadequate response to pressing problems. People’s impression of the government may go down as the proceedings are live telecast and reported in the media.

Published date : 16 Nov 2020 11:53AM