Srinagar, June 20: The Speaker of Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, on Sunday said major decisions have been taken in the recent past to increase the efficacy of the Question Hour and these would be implemented from the 5th session of the 15th Lok Sabha.

 “The Question Hour has special significance in the proceedings of the House. It allows members to highlight public grievances, matters concerning the administration, and working of the ministers and their allied departments,” Meira Kumar said after inaugurating the 75th All India Presiding Officer’s Conference at the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Complex here this morning.

 Elaborating the decisions, she said, “The hitherto minimum and maximum period of 10 and 21 days respectively, for giving notices by the members for questions has been done away with and a uniform period of 15-days has been prescribed for giving such notices.”

 “The Speaker has now been vested with powers to direct answer to a starred question of a member who is absent in the House when his or her name is called. A member is now required to make a statement in the House correcting the reply given by him or her earlier, irrespective of the fact whether the reply given pertained to a starred or unstarred or a short notice question,” she said. “Number of notices of questions, which a member is entitled to give, both for oral and written answers in a day, has been limited to 10.” 

 She said these procedural changes would meet the long-felt need to regulate the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha effectively. “Asking questions is an inherent right of members in our parliamentary democracy and the interest of the people can be better served by ensuring that the House runs in order,” she added. 

 “Question Hour being the very first hour, sets the mood of the House for the day. Its disruption adversely affects the proceedings of the entire day. In addition, whenever, the question hour is disrupted, people are deprived of a great deal of information on various aspects of the functioning of the Government. It blocks the flow of Information from the Executive to the Legislature and from the legislature to the people, thus causing a serious blow to the principle of accountability”, she added.

 She said the Question Hour has sanctity of its own as the primary device available to members to demand the Government to explain its acts of omission and commission and also its stand on a variety of subjects of public importance. 

 It is, therefore, the duty of every Presiding officer, the Speaker said to maintain the inviolability of the Question Hour and hoped this Conference would discuss the relevant issues in their proper perspectives for evolving an effective solution to prevent frequent disruption of the Question Hour.

CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS VARIOUS ISSUES
 
 Coming to the topics of deliberation at this Conference, Meria Kumar said, “We will be discussing two subjects of enormous parliamentary importance, growing tendency to disrupt the Question Hour and the need to check it, and significance of the committee system in parliament and the need to strengthen it”.

 She said with the increasing business and expanding functions of modern legislatures, there had been a corresponding increase in the use of Committees in almost all our Legislative Bodies. In fact, the committee system has been widely acclaimed as the best suited device for detailed scrutiny of the administrative actions for enforcing executive accountability to the legislature and, through it, to the people at large, she added.

 Meria Kumar said this Conference of Presiding Officers was a platform where we can learn from one another’s experiences in managing the affairs of our Houses more professionally. “I earnestly hope that this Conference will go a long way in further streamlining the working of our parliamentary institutions”.

  She appreciated  Chief Minister  Omar Abdullah, Speaker, Muhammad Akbar Lone, acting Chairman S. Arvinder Singh Micky, Deputy Speaker, Muhammad Sartaj Madni, Secretary and staff of the JK Legislature Secretariat and all those associated with the meticulous planning and organization of this Conference and for the warm and generous hospitality extended to us. 

 “It has added an altogether new dimension to the age old tradition of Athithi Devo Bhav”, she added. 

 She hoped that deliberation of the Conference in the sublimely beautiful and invigorating state would prove significant in fortifying democratic institutions adding that the Presiding Officer’s Conference in this breath taking beautiful place would indeed remain itched in the memory of all the participants.

MEIRA PRAISES JK THROUGH HINDI POEM
 Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar turned poetic in course of her address to the 75th Conference of presiding officers and secretaries. Referring to Kashmir, Kumar in her Hindi poem said, “Kashmir hindustan ki shaan hai - yahan key parbat, vaadiyan, jheelein, nadyan, khushbu sey bhari hawain, chinar key darakhat, raseley fhal, kaisar ki kiyariyan sabhi ka maan mouh letei hain. Jammu, Kashmir va Ladakh mein hindu, islam, bodh dharam ka sangam hai. Inn sabhi dharmon, mazhaboon key mahatopuran dharam sathalon ka jahan lakhon shardalon aatey hain, qawyun lekhakhon, karigaron key pas bemisal hunar hai, jado hai-yahan ki khobsurti ruhani hai, yahan key log fariston ki tarah hain- dekhney mein bhi-dil se bhi yahan key sabhi logon ko hamara pranam aur shub kamnain”.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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