Question hour to begin at start of day's proceedings in RS

With the monsoon session of Parliament beginning on August 1, the Rajya Sabha is reverting the Question Hour to the start of the day's proceedings from 11am to 12 noon.

With the monsoon session of Parliament beginning on August 1, the Rajya Sabha is reverting the Question Hour to the start of the day's proceedings from 11am to 12 noon.

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It will be abandoning the experiment started during the budget session to shift the Question Hour between 2 and 3 pm in the wake of reservations of several political parties over the move.

Minister of state for Parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla said the decision has been taken by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari after consultations with leaders of various political parties.

In early March, the chairman had decided to shift the Question Hour after apparently being fed up with the growing tendency among members to disrupt proceedings the moment House assembled for the day.

The move had come in the wake of members using Question Hour to highlight issues like 2G spectrum scam and Telangana statehood, often leading to adjournments. This also deprived members of their right to ask questions and seek answers.