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Devices of Parliamentary Proceedings
Context:
In a recent intervention during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi urged the government to conduct a population Census as soon as possible, highlighting that an estimated 14 crore people in India are being deprived of benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
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- The Census, originally scheduled for 2021, has been delayed by more than four years, with no clear timeline for its completion.
- The Census data used for identifying beneficiaries under the NFSA is based on the outdated 2011 Census, which Gandhi highlighted as more than a decade old.
Parliamentary Devices
- Devices of parliamentary proceedings are tools and practices used in legislative bodies to facilitate debate, decision-making, and legislative functioning. Understanding these devices is essential for understanding the workings of legislative bodies and the dynamics of democratic governance
- Among these mechanisms, Question Hour, Zero Hour, and Motions play a vital role in ensuring accountability, transparency, and deliberation in governance.
Question Hour
- The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is termed Question Hour.
- It is mentioned in the Rules of Procedure of the House.
- During this time, members ask questions, and ministers usually give answers.
- Their questions have exposed financial irregularities and brought data and information regarding government functioning to the public domain.
- The questions are of three types:
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- Starred questions: Distinguished by an asterisk and require oral answers, so supplementary questions can follow.
- Unstarred questions: Require a written answer; supplementary questions cannot follow.
- Short notice questions: Matters of public importance and of an urgent character are considered under this type of question. These are asked by giving a notice of less than ten days and are answered orally.
Zero Hour
- Zero Hour is a period of time when MPs can raise matters of urgent public importance.
- The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day is taken up.
- It is an Indian parliamentary innovation and is not mentioned in the parliamentary rules book.
- MPs can raise issues without any prior notice during the Zero Hour.
Motions
- A motion is any proposal made to elicit a decision of the House. Every decision in the House is made through a question put by the Chair based on a motion proposed by a member.
- The question should repeat the motion’s terms and be framed to express a decision.
- Types:
- Substantive Motions: Independent proposals presented for the approval of the House, capable of expressing the House’s decision (e.g., a resolution).
- Substitute Motions: Proposed as alternatives to the original motion for taking a matter into consideration.
- Subsidiary Motions: These motions support or facilitate the resolution of a substantive motion but are not standalone decisions themselves.
- Forms of motions in the Indian Parliament:
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- Adjournment Motion: This motion is moved to discuss a definite matter of urgent public importance. It requires the support of 50 members to be admitted and is available in the Lok Sabha, but not the Rajya Sabha.
- No-Confidence Motion: Under Article 75, this motion is moved when a government loses the support of the Lok Sabha. If it passes, the entire Council of Ministers must resign. It needs support from 50 members to be accepted.
- Motion of Thanks: After each general election and the start of each fiscal year, the President addresses Parliament. This motion is used to express gratitude for the address. If it isn’t passed, it means the government has lost support.
- Call Attention Motion: Seeks the attention of the concerned Minister on a specific matter. Introduced in 1954, it is an Indian innovation in parliamentary procedure.
- Privilege Motion: This motion is raised when a member feels that a minister has violated the privileges of the House or its members, such as by withholding facts or providing misleading information. It’s aimed at censuring the minister. It can be raised in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- Cut Motions: These motions allow members of the Lok Sabha to oppose government spending in the Finance Bill. There are three types:
- Policy Cut: Reduces the demand to Re. 1, showing disapproval of the policy.
- Economy Cut: Reduces the demand by a specified amount.
- Token Cut: Reduces the demand by Rs. 100 to express a specific grievance. It can only be moved in the Lok Sabha.
- Closure Motion: This motion is moved to stop a debate and immediately put a matter to a vote. There are four types of closure motions:
- Simple Closure: When it’s decided that enough discussion has happened, and the matter should be voted on.
- Closure by Compartments: When parts of a bill or resolution are debated and voted on separately.
- Kangaroo Closure: Only key clauses are debated, skipping less important ones.
- Guillotine Closure: All clauses, including undiscussed ones, are voted on due to lack of time.
- Dilatory Motion: This motion seeks to delay the progress of business in the House, such as a bill or resolution. The Speaker can stop or reject this motion if it’s seen as an abuse of parliamentary rules.
- Censure Motion: This motion is used to express disapproval of the government’s policies or actions. It requires reasons to be stated but does not force the government to resign if passed.
- No-Day-Yet-Named Motion: This motion has been accepted by the Speaker but has not been scheduled for discussion yet. It can be moved in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
