New Delhi: Rajya Sabha today gave its nod to a proposal to shift the Question Hour from 11 AM to noon despite opposition by members from SP and Left parties.
The House passed the motion moved by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien by a voice vote to approve the 13th report of the Committee on Rules for change in timings of the businesses conducted in the House.
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has been concerned over wastage of Question Hour because of disruptions and the General Purposes Committee of the House headed by him had taken a decision on August 11 to swap the Question Hour and the Zero Hour timings.
The report was presented to Rajya Sabha on November 25.
Accepting an amendment moved by P Rajeeve (CPI-M), the House also decided to shift the timing for calling attention motion to 2 PM from 5 PM as suggested by the Committee on Rules in its report.
Samajwadi Party leaders Naresh Agarwal and Ram Gopal Yadav, who is a member of the General Purpose Committee (GPC), voiced opposition to the changes, saying such an "experiment" will not succeed.
Yadav said he was the lone member of the committee who had opposed the changes at the GPC.
"The decision to change the timings had come into effect from yesterday but what we have noted is that in both the days the House could not function, thus defeating the purpose of making such changes," he said.
The objective behind changing the timing of the Question Hour was to ensure conduct of smooth business during this period.
Question Hour, which marks the beginning of a day's proceedings of a House of Parliament, is often witness to disruptions by members who want to raise issues. Normally, no issue can be raised during the Question Hour except those related to the questions listed for the day.
