Scrapping Question Hour: What is Question Hour?

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. With the broadcasting of Question Hour since 1991, Question Hour has become one the most visible aspects of parliamentary functioning.

Over the last 70 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.

For instance, in 1957, Ram Subhag Singh, a Lok Sabha MP from Bihar decided to utilise Question Hour to ask Union Finance Minister TT Krishnamachari about a suspicious investment made by the state-controlled Life Insurance Corporation of India in the company of a Kolkata-based businessman called Haridas Mundhra. This set off a series of events that led to the discovery of independent India’s first financial scandal and to Krishnamachari resigning from the Cabinet.

Types of question:

There are four types of question—Starred, nonstarred, 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 a supplementary question, with the permission of the Speaker, after the reply is obtained from the Minister concerned. These questions are printed in green colour and are marked with asterisk sign ‘*’, in order to distinguish from other questions.

2) Non-starred questions are those for which a written reply is expected. After the reply has been provided, no supplementary question can be asked. A notice period is to be given to the minister to reply to a question. These questions are printed in white colour and not more than 230 questions can be listed for a day in Lok Sabha.

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. These questions are printed in yellow-pink colour.

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 etc.

However, if a Member seeks to ask a question urgently and cannot wait for the duration of the notice period, then the member can do so provided it is accepted by the Speaker. Such questions are called supplementary questions.

Question Hour in other countries:

This sort of a process where elected representatives ask questions that are replied by the Prime Minister or other government ministers is part of parliamentary tradition in many other countries. The Question Hour in the Indian Parliament is similar to the Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, the First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament and the Question Period in National Assembly for Wales.