Congress leader Adhir Ranjan urges LS speaker not to curtail question, zero hours

NEW DELHI: The Congress has petitioned the Lok Sabha Speaker against the reported move to do away with the Question Hour and Zero Hour in the upcoming short session of Parliament ostensibly due to the Covid-19 -related restrictions.

Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday urged Speaker Om Birla trough a letter to continue with the Question Hour and Zero Hour by pointing the vital role these special hours playing in raising many important issues on the floor of Parliament.

While appreciating many extra steps being taken by the Office of the Speaker to ensue the conduct of the Lok Saha even amid the Covid-19 spike, Chowdhury pointed out in his letter; “"There, however, appears to be a proposal for curtailing the Question Hour as well as the Zero Hour during the session by way of restricting the allocation of time as well as the number of notices that could be filed by the members... You will kindly appreciate the fact that raising questions in Parliament, and issues of public importance during the Zero Hour are foremost of the procedural methods available to members to vent issues of national and public importance”.


Chodhury, therefore, pointed out to the Speaker that curtailing the Question Hour and Zero Hour, therefore, "will not be in the interest of the elected representatives, and more so in the current times” such as the COVID outbreak.