Diminishing Parliament

Context: The decision to curtail “Question Hour” of Parliament session has evoked serious concerns about the democratic functioning of the institution. 

Strength/Relevance of Question Hour

• A parliamentary device : meant for exercising legislative control over executive actions 

• • • To criticise government policies and programmes, ventilate public grievances, expose the government’s lapses, extract promises from ministers.
• Ensures accountability and transparency in governance.

• • • • The government is duty bound to respond to questions in Parliament

• Constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight over executive actions as envisaged under Article 75 (3).

• A democratic right of the members of Parliament enjoyed even under the colonial rule

Historical Evolution of Question Hour

• The Charter Act, 1853 gave power to the members of first legislative council to ask questions to the executive. 
• The Indian Council Act of 1861 allowed members to elicit information by means of questions. 
• The Indian Council Act, 1892 formulated the rules for asking questions including short notice questions
• The Indian Council Act, 1909 (Montague-Chelmsford reforms) incorporated provisions for asking supplementary questions by members. 
• It incorporated a rule that the first hour of every meeting was earmarked for questions.
• Provisions regarding starred questions were started in 1921.

Conclusion: Curtailing the power of questioning the Members of Parliament (MP), will diminish the role of Parliament as an institutional of democracy and turn itself into an “Executive Parliament.”