Devices Of Parliamentary Proceedings In India


What Is Question Hour?

This is scheduled for the first hour of every parliamentary session. During this time, members typically ask questions of the ministers, who usually respond. There are three types of questions: starred, unstarred, and short notice. A starred question (denoted by an asterisk) necessitates an oral response, and thus supplementary questions can be asked.
 
Supplementary questions cannot be asked after an unstarred question because it requires a written response. A question with a short notice is one that is asked with less than ten days' notice. Orally, the question is answered.
 
Questions can also be directed at private members in addition to ministers. A question may be directed to a private member if the subject of the question is a Bill, resolution, or other matter relating to the House's business for which that member is responsible. In the case of such a question, the procedure is the same as it is for questions addressed to a minister. To distinguish them from one another, the list of starred, unstarred, short notice questions, and questions to private members is printed in green, white, light pink, and yellow, respectively.
 

What Is Zero Hour?

The zero hour, unlike the question hour, is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure. As a result, it is an informal mechanism available to members of Parliament to raise issues without prior notice. The zero hour begins immediately following the question hour and continues until the day's agenda (i.e., the House's regular business) is completed. In other words, zero hour is the time interval between the question hour and the agenda. It has been in use since 1962 and is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures.
 

What Are The Types Of Motions?

Devices of Parliamentary Proceedings In India
A motion must be made with the consent of the presiding officer before a discussion on a matter of general public importance can take place. The House makes decisions or expresses opinions on a variety of issues by adopting or rejecting motions proposed by ministers or private members. Members' motions to bring up various issues for discussion fall into three categories.
 
1. Substantive Motion: This is a self-contained, independent proposal that addresses a major issue such as impeachment of the President or the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner.
 
2. Substitute Motion: A substitute motion is one that is moved in place of an original motion and proposes an alternative. If passed by the House, it will take precedence over the original motion.
 
3. Subsidiary Motion: This is a motion that has no meaning on its own and cannot state the House's decision without referring to the original motion or proceedings. It's broken down into three sections: Ancillary Motion: It is the standard way of conducting various types of business. A superseding motion is one that is made during debate on another issue and seeks to override it. It seeks to change or replace only a portion of the original motion.
 

What Do You Understand By Closure Motion?

It is a motion introduced by a member to end debate on a topic before the House. If the House approves the motion, debate is immediately halted and the matter is put to a vote. Closure motions can be divided into four categories:
 
(a) Simple Closure: This occurs when a member requests that the "matter having been sufficiently discussed be now put to vote."
 
(b) Compartment Closure: In this case, the clauses of a bill or a long resolution are divided into parts before the debate begins. The debate covers the entire section, which is then put to a vote.
 
(c) Kangaroo Closure: In this type of closure, only the most important clauses are debated and voted on, while the rest are skipped over and passed.
 
(d) Guillotine Closure: This occurs when, due to a lack of time, the unresolved clauses of a bill or resolution are also put to a vote alongside the discussed ones (as the time allotted for the discussion is over).
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What Is Privilege Motion?

It is concerned with a minister's breach of parliamentary privileges. It is moved by a member when he believes that a minister has violated the House's or one or more of its members' privilege by withholding facts in a case or giving incorrect or distorted facts. Its goal is to bring the concerned minister to justice.
 

Motion Attracts Attention

It is introduced in Parliament by a member to bring a minister's attention to a matter of urgent public importance and to obtain an authoritative statement from him on the subject. It, like the zero hour, is an Indian parliamentary procedure innovation that has been in use since 1954. It is, however, mentioned in the Rules of Procedure, unlike the zero hour.
 

What Is Adjournment Motion?

It is introduced in Parliament to bring the House's attention to a specific matter of public importance, and it requires the support of 50 members to be accepted. It is regarded as an extraordinary device because it disrupts the House's normal operations. The Rajya Sabha is not permitted to use this device because it involves an element of censure against the government. The debate on the motion for adjournment should last at least two hours and thirty minutes.
 
The right to move a motion to adjourn the House's business is subject to the following constraints:
 
• It should address a specific, factual, timely, and public-interest issue;
 
• It should not deal with more than one subject;
 
• It should be limited to a specific recent occurrence and should not be framed in broad terms;
 
• It should not raise a privilege issue;
 
• It should not bring up a topic that has already been discussed in the same session;
 
• It should not deal with any issue that is currently being decided by a court; and
 
• It should not raise any issues that could be addressed in a separate motion.
 

What Do You Mean By Confidence Motion?

According to Article 75 of the Constitution, the council of ministers is collectively accountable to the Lok Sabha. It means that the ministry will remain in office as long as the majority of Lok Sabha members believe in it. In other words, by passing a no-confidence motion, the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office. To be accepted, the motion requires the support of 50 members.

Censure Motion

No-Confidence Motion

It should state the reasons for its adoption in the Lok Sabha.

It need not state the reasons for its adoption in the Lok Sabha.

It can be moved against an individual min­ister or a group of ministers or the entire council of ministers.

It can be moved against the entire council of ministers only.

It is moved for censuring the council of min­isters for specific policies and actions.

It is moved for ascertaining the confidence of Lok Sabha in the council of ministers.

If it is passed in the Lok Sabha, the council of ministers need not resign from the office.

If it is passed in the Lok Sabha, the council of ministers must resign from office.

 

What Is Motion Of Thanks? 

The president addresses the first session after each general election and the first session of each fiscal year. The president outlines the government's policies and programmes for the previous year and the coming year in this address. The president's address, which is known as the "Speech from the Throne in Britain," is debated in both Houses of Parliament on a motion known as the "Motion of Thanks." The motion is put to a vote at the conclusion of the discussion. This motion must be approved by the House of Representatives. Otherwise, it amounts to the government's defeat. The president's inaugural address is an opportunity for members of Parliament to hold hearings and debates to examine and criticise the government and administration for its flaws and failures.
 

No-Day-Yet-Named Motion

The Speaker has accepted the motion, but no date has been set for it to be discussed. The Speaker allots a day or days or part of a day for the discussion of such a motion after considering the state of business in the House and consulting with the House leader or on the recommendation of the Business Advisory Committee.
 

What's The Meaning Of Point Of Order?

When the House's proceedings do not follow the normal rules of procedure, a member can raise a point of order. A point of order should be related to the interpretation or enforcement of the House Rules or such articles of the Constitution that regulate the House's business, and should raise a question within the Speaker's jurisdiction. It is usually raised by a member of the opposition in order to exert control over the government. It's a unique device because it puts the House's proceedings on hold. On a point of order, no debate is permitted.
 

Half-An-Hour Discussion

It's for debating a topic of sufficient public importance that's been the subject of a lot of debate and whose answer needs to be clarified on a matter of fact. The Speaker can set aside three days per week for such meetings. The House is not currently debating or voting on any formal motions.
 

Short Duration Discussion

It's also known as a two-hour discussion because the maximum time allotted for such a discussion is two hours. Members of Parliament can initiate such debates on matters of pressing public concern. The Speaker has the authority to set aside two days per week for such discussions. There is no formal motion before the house, and there is no voting. Since 1953, this device has been in use.
 

Special Mention

A matter that is not a point of order or that cannot be raised during question hour, half-hour debate, short duration debate, or under an adjournment motion, calling attention notice, or any other rule of the House can be raised under the Rajya Sabha's special mention. The ‘Notice (Mention) Under Rule 377' is the Lok Sabha's equivalent procedural device.
 

Resolutions

Devices of Parliamentary Proceedings In India
Members can introduce resolutions to bring matters of general public interest to the attention of the House or the government. The discussion of a resolution must be strictly related to and contained within the resolution's scope. A member who has moved a resolution or an amendment to a resolution can only withdraw it with the House's permission. The following are the three types of resolutions:
 
1. Private Member's Resolution: A private member's resolution is one that is proposed by a private member (other than a minister). Only on alternate Fridays and in the afternoon sitting is it discussed.
 
2. Ministerial Resolution: A ministerial resolution is one that is proposed by a minister. It can be done any day between Monday and Thursday.
 
3. Statutory Resolution: A private member or a minister can propose it. It's called that because it's always presented in response to a provision in the Constitution or a law passed by Parliament.
 
"All resolutions fall under the heading of substantive motions, which means that each resolution is a specific type of motion. It is not necessary for all motions to be substantive. Furthermore, all motions are not required to be put to a vote in the House, whereas all resolutions must be voted on."

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