Rajya sabha consulted the opposition during Question Hour
Background
This is the first hour of sitting in the parliament.
During this, MPs ask questions to ministers and hold them accountable for functioning of their ministries.
Both Houses of the Parliament follow their own set of rules which are formulated to govern themselves.
At the beginning of Parliament in 1952, Lok Sabha rules provided for Question Hour to be held every day.
Rajya Sabha, on the other hand, had a provision for Question Hour for two days a week. A few months later, this was changed to four days a week.
Then from 1964, Question Hour was taking place in Rajya Sabha on every day of the session.
Procedure
Before asking a question in the parliament, the member has to give a 15-day notice to the Chairman/Speaker in a prescribed manner. Such a period can be reduced at the discretion of the Chairman/Speaker.
The permissible limits with respect to the question are only five a day per member in Lok Sabha and seven per day in Rajya Sabha.
Suspension of Question hour
Question hour was done away with in the years 1962, 1975, 1976, 1991, 2004 and 2009 for various reasons.
Question Hour was first dispensed with due to the India-China war during the winter session of 1962.
Similarly, in the 1971 winter session, it was suspended due to the war with Pakistan.
During the Emergency, parliament functioned without the Question Hour for two sessions: the monsoon session of 1975 and winter session of 1976.
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