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| The big question: Why have a Question Hour? | | | Abodh Sharma
JAMMU, Feb 20: At a time when the entire nation is debating the conduct and demeanor of the legislators both in the State Assemblies and the Parliament, the very need and relevance of the Question Hour, which was once considered to be the most sacred segment of the legislative proceedings has come under scanner.
E- governance which has been launched effectively in many states of the country and the Right to Information Act have empowered the people to seek and get any information from the Government and the public functionaries are not only duty bound to provide the sought information, but are liable to be reprimanded if the information is not provided in stipulated time. The legislators have thus forfeited their exclusive Right to Information as every citizen now has an access to even file notings and records of important Government offices. Under such circumstances, the entire exercise of conduct of Question Hour in the State Legislatures and the Parliament has become irrelevant.
The over enthusiasm and aggression exhibited by the legislators, most of which is generally stage managed and for television audiences in their respective constituencies, has further dented the dignity and decorum of the entire idea of Question hour. It has been observed that the legislators play to the galleries and cross the lines of esteem and lose patience in their bid to be heard out of turn. Such incidents have gravely hurt the honour and solemnity of the Peoples' house. The Speakers and the Chairmen can be seen making fervent appeals to the legislators to allow the conduct of the legislative proceedings, but they look so helpless in the absence of rules that would vest more powers in them for the effective conduct of the business.
Months ahead of each session of the State Legislature, entire Government machinery is engaged in preparing the replies to the questions the list of which is handed over by each legislator and routine working of the Government departments is affected, but seldom the duration of the question hour is utilized constructively and even if the proceedings are conducted normally, only a couple of questions are discussed in the House and rest of them remain buried in the bundles of stationery that the Assembly secretariat issues to the MLAs and also to the media, raising once again a big question mark on the sanctity and inviolability of the Question Hour in legislative proceedings. |
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