QUES . What is the significance of Zero Hour in the proceedings in the Indian Parliament? UPSC IES/ISS EXAM 2014 General Studies. 200 Words. 5 Marks
HINTS:
What is Zero Hour?
Zero hour is an informal device available to the members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice.
The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour but unlike the question hour, it is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.
Zero hour lasts until the agenda for the day (ie, regular business of the House) is taken up. In other words, the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known as zero hour.
While Question Hour is strictly regulated, Zero Hour is an Indian parliamentary innovation.
How the concept of Zero Hour originated?
Zero Hour is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence since 1962.
The emergence of Zero Hour can be traced to early sixties when many issues of great public importance and urgency began to be raised by members immediately after Question Hour, sometimes with prior permission of the Presiding officers or some other times without such permission.
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Thus, a new technique or parliamentary device without any specific sanction in the rules was developed. A practice started developing that as soon as the Chairman declared “Question Hour is over” a member would be on his feet to raise a matter which he considered or felt to be of utmost importance to be brought to the attention of the House, and through the House, to the Government, and which could not brook any delay nor could it await to be raised by following the normally available procedures.
How Zero hour got its name?
During the initial days, Parliament used to break for lunch at 1 pm. Therefore, the opportunity for MPs to raise national issues without an advance notice became available at 12 pm and could last for an hour until the House adjourned for lunch. This led to the hour being popularly referred to as Zero Hour.
Over the years, presiding officers of both Houses have given directions to streamline the working of Zero Hour to make it even more effective.
What are Zero Hour submissions?
The issues raised during the Zero hour are known as Zero Hour submissions.
What is the significance of Zero Hour?
Zero Hour enables the members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice. It acts as a valuable instrument for airing complaints and reinforcing parliament’s function as a forum for debate. It allows any member of parliament, regardless of party allegiance, to ask questions and demand rapid responses
The importance of Zero Hour can be gauged from the support it receives from citizens, media, MPs and presiding officers despite not being part of the rulebook.
External link: https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.in/UploadedFiles/Procedure/RajyaSabhaAtWork/English/639-649/CHAPTER19.pdf
