Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday opposing a proposal to curtail the Question Hour and Zero Hour during the upcoming Parliament session that will start on September 14.
Mr. Chowdhury, in the two-page letter, said it will prevent lawmakers from raising issues of national importance.
He said the Speaker’s efforts to ensure smooth conduct of the proceedings keeping in mind the safety of MPs are “truly appreciable.” However, he was against reducing the time allocated for Question Hour and Zero Hour, as well as the number of notices that could be filed by MPs.
“You will kindly appreciate the fact that raising questions in Parliament, and issues of public importance during the Zero Hour is foremost of the procedural methods available to members to vent issues of national and public importance,” Mr Chowdhury said in his letter. Curtailing them would not be in the interest of the elected representatives, more so in the current times (of COVID-19 pandemic), the Congress leader noted.
