Anger over the government’s ‘no questions asked hour’ move for the parliament session
New Delhi:
The option to cancel question time for the next session of parliament was previously discussed and no one other than Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress objected, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi told NDTV. However, he added that the TMC leader in the house, Sudip Bandopadhyay, agreed to the move. “It is not good that after agreeing, the leaders begin to say in public that they do not agree,” the minister of Parliamentary Affairs told NDTV.
The plan to withdraw the Hour of Questions in the short session that would begin on September 14 after a five-month gap has sparked a dispute, with several leaders accusing the government of stifling the voice of the opposition.
With the hours of sessions reduced to about four hours a day, the government has also eliminated the affairs of private members, the time reserved for bills presented by parliamentarians. Zero Hour, scheduled for members to raise matters of public importance, has been limited to 30 minutes.
The opposition’s argument is that it does not give them the opportunity to raise and discuss matters that they consider important. Among the loudest is Derek O’Brien, who has accused the government of “murdering democracy” in the name of the coronavirus.
“Parliamentarians must submit questions for Question Time in Parliament 15 days in advance. The session begins on September 14. So, Question Time was canceled? Opposition MPs lose the right to question the government A first time since 1950? Parliament’s general working hours are still the same, so why cancel questioning hours? A pandemic excuse to assassinate democracy ?, he tweeted.
Today, Mr. Joshi said: “We discussed the option to cancel question time and issued a notification only after everyone agreed except Derek O’Brien.”
The logic, he said, was also explained to each leader: that for each question related to ministries, a large number of officials are required to be present in the Parliament complex. Each day in question time, 20 questions are listed. This, he said, presented the problem of repeated sanitation, which takes a long time. But most of the leaders, especially the elders, wanted House to get up as quickly as possible. The government, he added, is ready to discuss all issues.
“Rajnath Singh and I spoke to all the senior leaders. We spoke to all the major and minor parties. No one objected except Derek O’Brien. They all said there was a pandemic situation, so we agreed. Sudip Bandhopadhyay agreed. agreement. He is the leader of the Trinamool Congress in Parliament, “added Joshi.
The minister also said that other opposition leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad from Congress, Janata Dal Secular HD Chief Devegowda and Sharad Pawar from the Nationalist Congress Party have agreed.
But soon after, Anand Sharma of Congress tweeted his reservations, calling the decision “arbitrary, shocking and undemocratic.”
“The sessions of parliament are not intended only for government affairs, but also for scrutiny and government accountability,” Sharma tweeted.
“The delayed monsoon session of parliament is of particular importance after the gradual closing and unlocking. The proposal to exclude Question Time is arbitrary, shocking and undemocratic. It is a privilege of the members and the very life of a session,” read another tweet.
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