For over 60 years, Question Hour was taken up at 11 am, followed by Zero Hour at 12 noon in Rajya Sabha. Question Hour would often be disrupted due to MPs wanting to raise crucial issues at the start of the day. In 2014, former Chairman Hamid Ansari flipped the timings and now Zero Hour starts at 11 am, followed by Question Hour at 12 noon. A noteworthy reform by a presiding officer. (Reform and presiding officers. Let’s not say a word more!)
At noon on December 14, the first MP was suspended. At the time of going to press, another 145 MPs have subsequently been banned from both Houses of Parliament. To provide some perspective, consider this: Across 10 years of UPA I and UPA II, about 50 MPs were suspended from Parliament.
In the cutthroat political colosseum, let’s bring back some wit into Parliamentary debates. We have our differences, but let’s not take ourselves too seriously. Nothing like friendly banter to cool off a heated exchange. Here are some other nuggets of humour that have occurred in Parliament over the years. Enjoy.
From Ahmedabad to New York. Is the Gujarat Model export quality?
Mitigating air pollution in India must be viewed as an investment, rather than an expenditure. This will ensure future social and economic growth. Stopgap solutions like odd-even usage of car number plates or temporary smog towers will not solve the problem. Long-term national policy interventions are needed both at the macro level and the micro level.
Nostalgia, they say, is a good antidote for anger. So let me share with you what I was doing on 25 June 1983. Frame by frame.
The Union government’s welfare schemes are often more hype than substance. Slick marketing succeeds in hiding the flaws. Glib speeches at election rallies present these schemes as “gifts” from the supreme captain rather than what they are: repackaged social welfare schemes, copy-pasted from the states or rebranded programmes that predate Narendra Modi at Lok Kalyan Marg.
Unlike the two dozen or so other forgettable acronyms created since 2014, I like the name UDAN. But let’s examine whether it has really taken off or been grounded in the last few years. Are those citizens who can only afford hawai chappals, really being transported from Point Mo to Point Di in a hawai jahaz!
The practice of sending parliamentary delegations presented a unique opportunity for capacity-building and engaging with the UN, as also to get an insider’s view of diplomacy. But the BJP has worked to short-circut this since coming to power in 2014
1. Two Australians are the only players who have appeared in four World Cup finals – in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007. One is Glenn McGrath. Who is the other? 2. Shankar Mahadevan composed the official song for the 2011 World Cup. Who composed the song for this year’s World Cup? 3. Which legendary opening… Continue reading 20 Questions With Derek: Play The World Cup Cricket Quiz
