Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is concerned over disruptions and adjournments of Parliament and had floated an idea in the previous session to shift Question Hour, with which the day's sitting begins, towards end of the day to rescue it from a daily washout.
She felt members seeking suspension of the Question Hour day after day were doing injustice to others who ask questions and want to elicit further information from the government through supplementaries. If it were shifted to a fixed time, say from 5 to 6 pm instead of 11 am to 12 noon, it will also ensure that the members who are not able to make it to the House on time in the morning for various reasons will also not miss the Question Hour, she felt.
While she suggested to the political parties to consider the proposal, sources in her office said she may push for it during the current monsoon session by convening an all-party meeting.
Meanwhile, the government fumbles over prospects of the legislative business being hit by the Opposition's disruptions forcing adjournment of Parliament, even as Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari is pushing for his House to sit late up to 8 pm every day to dispose of the agenda.
He does not want the House adjourned for the day if disruptions erupt. His view is that the first half of the sitting becomes noisy at times, forcing adjournments as members get agitated over legitimate issues, but tempers can cool down after lunch to recoup lost time in the afternoon session.
Dr Ansari has already held a series of meetings with leaders of political parties in the Upper House for a consensus and has also taken the approval of the Business Advisory Committee of the House to extend sittings from 6 pm to 8 pm. He may announce the change on Tuesday and seek a consensus from the House.
