No Question Hour, curtailed Zero Hour in Parl monsoon session; Opposition cries foul, calls it undemocratic

There will be no Question Hour, a curtailed Zero Hour and no private members' bills during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats have decided, prompting opposition leaders to accuse the government of trying to "murder the democracy" in the name of the COVID-19 pandemic and of reducing "Parliament to a notice board".

In separate notifications, the two secretariats also said there will be no breaks as well during the session to be held from September 14 to October 1, and both Houses will function on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the session will be held in two shifts -- 9 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 7 PM.

Except for the first day, the Rajya Sabha will sit in the morning shift and the Lok Sabha will sit in the evening, according to the notifications.

"There will be no Question Hour during the Session. In view of the request of the government owing to the prevailing extraordinary situation due to COVID-19, the Speaker has directed that no day be fixed for the transaction of Private Members' Business during the Session," the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notification.

A similar notification was issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat as well.

On the move to dispense with the Question Hour, Trinamool Congress MP and Floor Leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O' Brien said opposition MPs will lose the right to question the government and alleged that the pandemic was being used as an "excuse to murder democracy."

In the past, he said, the Question Hour was dispensed with during sessions of Parliament called for special purposes but the upcoming monsoon session is a "regular session".

According to sources, the government has reached out to the Opposition, sharing its compulsions to not hold the Question Hour in wake of the pandemic.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called up several opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chowdhury, Biju Janata Dal's Pinaki Misra and O'Brien.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted that he had said four months ago that "strongmen leaders would use the excuse of the pandemic to stifle democracy and dissent".

"The notification for the delayed Parliament session blandly announces there will be no Question Hour. How can this be justified in the name of keeping us safe?

"Questioning the government is the oxygen of parliamentary democracy. This Govt seeks to reduce Parliament to a notice-board and uses its crushing majority as a rubber-stamp for whatever it wants to pass. The one mechanism to promote accountability has now been done away with," he tweeted.

The Congress party also tweeted separately that questioning the government is the "life-blood of parliamentary democracy".

"By doing away with this tool of accountability, the BJP Govt seeks to pass laws without any discussion and debate. It is an attempt to stifle democracy under the garb of the pandemic," it added.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and party's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said that the proposal to exclude Question Hour during this session is arbitrary and undemocratic as it is the right of the members to ask questions to the government on key issues.

"Parliament sessions are not only meant for government business but also scrutiny and accountability of the government.

"Delayed monsoon session of Parliament is one of special significance after the lockdown and phased unlocking. The proposal to exclude Question hour is arbitrary, shocking and undemocratic. It is members' privilege and the very life of a session," said Sharma.

Chowdhury also said that the government should reconsider its decision and his party would again make a plea to it in this regard.

"PM Modi is the only world leader to never hold a press conference or answer an unscripted question, it's not surprising his govt has been inspired to do the same and banned Question Hour," the Congress party tweeted on its official handle.

"Questions are an expression of the will of the people. They guide a democratically elected Govt. towards people-centric governance. The intention of BJP to avoid questions clearly shows that they neither believe in democratic procedure nor good governance," it said.

Chowdhury said besides government business, the Question hour and Zero hour are important elements during a Parliament session.

"Due to paucity of time, we have not been provided with this opportunity. I have been demanding that Zero Hour and Question Hour should not be dispensed with due to time constraints," he said.

"We feel our rights have been taken away and that is why we are raising this issue. All issues concerning the country and the world are raised during Question Hour.

"I am informed that Zero Hour may be allowed for half an hour but no assurance on Question Hour. I urge the government to provide time for holding Question Hour, as all members take interest in it. We have urged the government to reconsider it," he said.

Asked at the cabinet briefing about the complaints of members about the Question Hour, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the Parliament session is being held under special and extraordinary circumstances.

"Parliamentary affairs minister is in touch with various political parties and is talking to their leaders. He will inform all about the issues at the right time," Javadekar said.

O'Brien said question hours are significant because issues raised during this time are answered by the minister concerned which is not the case in the Zero Hour.

He said questions are also asked from the treasury benches and the move to suspend the question hour would mean that the government was also "denying their own MPs to raise their queries".

"This means that we cannot ask any questions on the state of the economy or the pandemic," he said.

The Trinamool Congress leader cited examples of the 33rd (1961), 93rd (1975), 98th (1976) 99th (1977) sessions when there was no Question Hour as those sessions were summoned for special purposes of "Orissa, Proclamation of Emergency, 44th Amdmt, President's Rule TN/Nagaland". But the upcoming monsoon session is a regular one, he added.

CPI MP Binoy Viswam has also written to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Nadu, saying that suspension of Question Hour and Private Members' business is "unjust" and they must be reinstated immediately.

Viswam said suspending these parliamentary procedures raises "serious questions" on the "intent" of the government at a time crucial developments continue to take place across the country.

"By introducing these changes, the Government has effectively ensured that its accountability to the Parliament and to the people is done away with," he said.

He said that the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown had brought an abrupt end to the Parliamentary session in March.

Since then the Parliament has been in a state of suspension while crucial developments continue to take place across the country. The Parliament has finally been proposed to reconvene on September 14, 2020. However, the recent changes to parliamentary procedures that were released on September 1 raise serious questions regarding the intent of this Government," Viswam said in a statement.