Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly introduces Zero Hour
Himachal Pradesh
5 min read
For the first time, the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly introduced Zero Hour in its legislative proceedings on 4 September 2024. The practice of zero hour in parliamentary democracy is an invention of the Indian Parliament. It was introduced during the Sixties in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and this practice is gradually being adopted by the state legislative assemblies in India.
The term Zero Hour is nowhere mentioned in the rules of the Parliament and the State Assembly. It is a convention, not a rule.
Zero Hour in Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
The speaker of the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, announced the introduction of Zero Hour in the state legislative assembly proceedings at the start of the assembly's monsoon session on 3 September 2024.
The zero hour will commence at 12:30 PM after the end of the Question Hour and will last half an hour.
The question hour period in the state legislative assembly is from 11.30 A.m. to 12.30 Noon on almost all Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly working days.
During the Zero hour, the member of the assembly can raise matters of urgent public importance,
According to the Speaker, the members will get one minute or slightly more time to raise matters of public importance.
Why has it been introduced?
In Parliament or the state legislative assembly, the first hour of each day's proceedings is devoted to Question Hours, during which members ask questions of the government of the day.
Many times, the opposition members attempt to raise matters of public importance related to their constituency at the start of the Question Hour, thus disrupting the Question Hour.
Question Hour is considered to be one of the most important parts of the Legislative proceeding, as the members hold the government accountable for its actions by asking questions related to its performance.
Thus, zero hours were introduced so that members could raise matters they consider important after the question hour without disrupting the question hours.
Features of Zero Hour in Indian Parliament
Zero Hour refers to the time between the end of Question Hour and the beginning of the house's regular listed business.
The Question Hour is from 11 Am to 12 Noon in the Lok Sabha.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Question Hour is from 12 Noon to 1 PM.
Members can raise issues of urgent public importance with the permission of the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha.
However, it should be noted that there is no rule for a Zero Hour in Parliament's proceedings. Zero Hour is a convention followed in India, and the Speaker or the Chairman can adjourn the House just after Question Hour. In such a case, no zero hour will take place.
The duration of the Zero hour is not fixed in Parliament. It could be less than one hour or more than an hour. Its duration depends upon the number of matters raised or on the Speaker or the Chairman of the House.
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
The current Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly is the 14th legislative assembly. It was constituted in December 2022.
The assembly has 68 members and a term of five years.
Speaker of the legislative assembly: Kuldeep Singh Pathania,
