Lok Sabha Secretariat justifies scrapping Question Hour; promises return in Winter Session

Amid vehement criticism from the opposition, the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Friday justified the scrapping of Question Hour by citing the COVID-19 situation. It stated that it was necessary to avoid gathering of a large number of officials in the galleries of the House to ensure social distancing. According to the secretariat of the Lower House of Parliament, to conduct Question Hour on 18 continuous days was not feasible in the present circumstances. 

It clarified that the Question Hour will be back in the Winter session of Parliament. Moreover, the LS Secretariat revealed that the Centre will give replies to 160 unstarred questions in the Monsoon session on each day. This effectively implies that 1,120 questions shall be answered by the government every week. 

Read: Monsoon Session Of Parliament Won't Have Question Hour Due To COVID; Starts September 14

What is the Question Hour?

Generally, the first hour of the sitting of the Lok Sabha is dedicated to the members of Parliament asking questions to the government. This is known as the Question Hour. The MPs can ask questions on every aspect of administration and governmental activity, which elicits important information. The Question Hour not only puts the onus of answering for acts of omission and commission on the Ministers but also helps the Centre to adapt its policies accordingly.

It is perceived that questions by MPs bring to the Ministers' notice some loopholes that may have gone unnoticed. The Question Hour is held in the Parliament session daily except for the days on which the President addresses Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and when the Union Finance Minister presents the budget. The Question Hour was also done away with during the Chinese aggression in 1962. 

Read: TMC's Derek O'Brien Slams 'No Question Hour' Decision In Parliament Monsoon Session

COVID-19 crisis in India

Currently, there are 39,36,747 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 30,37,151 patients have been discharged while 68,472 fatalities have been recorded. At present, there are 8,31,124 active cases. With 66,659 persons recovering from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the country's recovery rate soared to  77.15%%. The number of recovered persons outnumber active cases by more than 22 lakh. The case fatality rate stands at 1.74%.

In the last 24 hours, 11,69,765 samples were tested for COVID-19 across the country. So far, India has conducted 4,66,79,145 novel coronavirus tests. The number of labs for COVID-19 testing has increased to 1631- 1025 in the government sector and 606 in the private sector. 

Read: Odisha Assembly Awaits Guidelines From Lok Sabha Before Starting Next Session