QUES . “The question hour is a very important instrument of Parliamentary financial control over the executive.” Comment.
HINTS:
Question Hour has its origin in the United Kingdom when in 1961, the Parliament initiated the Prime Minister’s question time to make him/her accountable to the public.
Generally, the first hour of a sitting of Lok Sabha is devoted to the Questions and this hour is called the Question Hour. It has a special significance in the proceedings of the Parliament.
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The question hour highlights the government policies in the national and international spheres. It is an important device of focusing public attention on different aspects of functions and activities of administration.
The question hour is a very important instrument of Parliamentary financial control over the executive. It is the unfettered right of the members of Parliament to ask questions.
Type of Questions asked in Question Hour
Starred Question
A Starred Question is one to which a member desires an oral answer from the Minister in the House and is required to be distinguished by him/her with an asterisk. Answer to such a question may be followed by supplementary questions by members.
Unstarred Question
An Unstarred Question is one to which written answer is desired by the member and is deemed to be laid on the Table of the House by Minister. Thus it is not called for oral answer in the House and no supplementary question can be asked thereon.
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Short Notice Question
A member may give a notice of question on a matter of public importance and of urgent character for oral answer at a notice less than 10 days prescribed as the minimum period of notice for asking a question in ordinary course. Such a question is known as ‘Short Notice Question’.
To Private Member
A Question may also be addressed to a Private Member (Under Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha), provided that the subject matter of the question relates to some Bill, Resolution or other matter connected with the business of the House for which that Member is responsible. The procedure in regard to such questions is same as that followed in the case of questions addressed to a Minister with such variations as the Speaker may consider necessary.
Purpose and Significance of Question Hour
Some of its major purposes are given below:
Limiting the misuse of funds
The opposition gets the rightful time to ask the executive about any aberrations in public expenditure. The government-in-power or the executive, on the other hand, gets a chance to clarify any doubts arising out of misinformation and if it cannot, it gets corrected.
Detecting the loopholes
Questions bring to the notice of the Ministers many loopholes which otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Sometimes questions may lead to the appointment of a Commission, a Court of Enquiry or even Legislation when matters raised by Members are grave enough to agitate the public mind and are of wide public importance.
Checks and controls
In India, the question hour is a dedicated hour at the beginning of the proceedings of the Lok Sabha for the opposition parties to ask questions about governmental activities and its expenses.
Hour of trial
It has a special significance in the proceedings of the Parliament as asking questions is an inherent parliamentary right of members. This hour becomes an hour of trial for the government in which every minister is answerable for the administration’s acts of omission and commission.
Interactive platform
It helps the government to keep in touch with the genuine public grievances and find ways to redress them. Through the Question Hour the Government is able to quickly feel the pulse of the nation and adapt its policies and actions accordingly. It is through questions in the Parliament that the Government remains in touch with the people in as much as members are enabled thereby to ventilate the grievances of the public in matters concerning the administration.
Transparency
The televising of the proceedings of the Parliament makes citizens aware about the activities of the government and brings in transparency into the system.
Over the last 75 years, MPs have successfully used this parliamentary device to shine a light on government functioning. Their questions have exposed financial irregularities and brought data and information regarding government functioning to the public domain. With the broadcasting of Question Hour since 1991, Question Hour has become one the most visible aspects of parliamentary functioning.
External link: https://loksabhadocs.nic.in/bpstnew/Study_Material/PARLIAMENTARY_QUESTIONS.pdf
