No Question Hour or Zero Hour in Telangana Assembly this session?

Hyderabad: The Telangana government is gearing up to hold the Assembly session from September 7 with a new set of business rules. Thanks to corona pandemic, the important Question Hour, Zero Hour and short debates on various local issues are unlikely to be taken up during the session.

Some relaxations to the legislators suffering from long-term health ailments and prone to corona infection from attending the session and special medical facility to those with multiple co-morbidity who want to attend the session are also being under consideration. The health profile of the legislators will also be compiled to provide safety arrangements in the Assembly.

Officials of the Assembly and Council said that this time the objective of the session is to discuss the development schemes launched by the government and adoption of a few bills, including the new Revenue Act and some legislations with regard to Greater Hyderabad.

The government is not keen to hold day-long sessions. Debates on selected subjects will not be long ones as in the past. These issues will be discussed at a meeting jointly convened by Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Council Chairman G Sukhendar Reddy on Friday.

The timings of the Assembly session will also be altered. In the past, the session used to begin at 10 am and the Council at 11 am. Now they may meet at 11 am and end by 1 pm.

Sources said that the major concern is the monitoring of the health condition of the legislators who are above 60 years during their presence in the House. The Assembly Secretariat is compiling the health profile of all MLAs and MLCs. Based on the report, safety arrangements would be made for the members.

The one mechanism to promote accountability has now been done away with," he tweeted.

The Congress party also tweeted separately that questioning the government is the "life-blood of parliamentary democracy". "By doing away with this tool of accountability, the BJP Govt seeks to pass laws without any discussion and debate. It is an attempt to stifle democracy under the garb of the pandemic," it added.

Trinamool Congress Derek O'Brien said question hours are significant because issues raised during this time are answered by the minister concerned which is not the case in the Zero Hour. He said questions are also asked from the treasury benches and the move to suspend the question hour would mean that the government was also "denying their own MPs to raise their queries". This means that we cannot ask any questions on the state of the economy or the pandemic," he said.

CPI MP Binoy Viswam has also written to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Nadu, saying that suspension of Question Hour and Private Members' business is "unjust" and they must be reinstated immediately. Viswam said suspending these parliamentary procedures raises "serious questions" on the "intent" of the government at a time crucial developments continue to take place across the country.

"By introducing these changes, the Government has effectively ensured that its accountability to the Parliament and to the people is done away with," he said.