KOLKATA: Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Friday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing his disagreement with a proposal to curtail the Question Hour and Zero Hour during the upcoming Parliament session as it will prevent lawmakers from raising issues of national importance.
In a two-page letter to Birla, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha urged him to ensure that there is no curtailment of the two important parts of the proceedings.
Chowdhury hailed as “truly appreciable” the efforts being made by the speaker for smooth conduct of the proceedings while keeping in mind the safety of MPs when the House convenes on September 14 during the pandemic.
“There, however, appears to be a proposal for curtailing the Question Hour as well as the Zero Hour during the session by way of restricting the allocation of time as well as the number of notices that could be filed by the members.
“You will kindly appreciate the fact that raising questions in Parliament, and issues of public importance during the Zero Hour are foremost of the procedural methods available to members to vent issues of national and public importance,” Chowdhury wrote.
He noted that curtailing them by way of restricting the number of issues that could be raised and time earmarked will therefore, “not be in the interest of the elected representatives, and more so in the current times (during COVID outbreak)”. (AGENCIES)