"Parliamentary disruption and democratic decline demand urgent institutional reform"
Question Hour
first hour of each parliamentary sitting; ministers answer questions, enabling direct executive accountability.
Zero Hour
informal convention allowing MPs to raise urgent matters without prior notice; not codified in Rules of Procedure.
The Indian Parliament, established under Part V of the Constitution (Articles 79–122), is the supreme legislative body of the Union and the primary institutional arena for executive accountability. The framers of the Constitution envisioned Parliament not merely as a law-making machine but as a deliberative forum where the executive would be continuously scrutinised through mechanisms such as Question Hour, Zero Hour, Rule 377 notices, and debates on legislation. Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha, embedding the principle that the government must answer to elected representatives — and through them, to the people.
Historically, Indian parliamentary culture was shaped by a tradition of cross-party civility alongside fierce ideological contest. The early decades of the republic saw robust debates, with the Opposition playing a constitutionally recognised role in holding the executive to account. Parliamentary committees — particularly Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) — evolved as the workhorse of legislative scrutiny, examining bills and budgets away from the partisan theatre of the floor. Over time, however, the floor of the House has increasingly become a site of performative disruption rather than deliberative debate, a shift that has accelerated across successive governments regardless of party affiliation.
The functioning of Parliament rests on a set of procedural instruments that give both the government and the Opposition structured roles. Question Hour (the first hour of each sitting) allows members to question ministers on matters of public importance; starred questions require oral answers and permit supplementary questions, making them the sharpest accountability tool available to individual MPs. Zero Hour — an informal but institutionalised convention — allows members to raise urgent matters of public importance without prior notice. Rule 377 provides a mechanism for members to raise constituency-specific or nationally significant issues that do not qualify for Zero Hour. When Parliament is disrupted, all these instruments are rendered inoperative, and the executive escapes scrutiny it would otherwise face.
The relationship between the ruling party and the Opposition is constitutionally asymmetric: the government controls the legislative calendar, the Speaker's office, and the allocation of parliamentary time, while the Opposition's only formal leverage is the threat of disruption. …
With reference to the Indian Parliament, consider the following statements:
1.A bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses on its dissolution.
2.A bill passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
3.A bill in regard to which the President of India notified his/her intention to summon the Houses to a joint sitting lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the Parliament of India, consider the following statements:
1.Prorogation of a House by the President of India does not require the advice of the Council of Ministers.
2.Prorogation of a House is generally done after the House is adjourned sine die but there is no bar to the President of India proroguing the House which is in session.
3.Dissolution of the Lok Sabha is done by the President of India who, save in exceptional circumstances, does so on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A Parliamentary System of Government is one in which
With reference to parliamentary accountability mechanisms in India, consider the following statements:
1.Starred questions in Parliament require written answers from ministers.
2.Zero Hour is a formally codified procedure mentioned in the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha.
3.Rule 377 allows members to raise matters of urgent public importance not covered by other procedural devices.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best describes the constitutional basis for the collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers in India?
ASSERTION (A): Parliamentary disruption, when used by the Opposition, can be understood as a rational response to structural asymmetries in the Rules of Procedure rather than purely as anti-democratic conduct.
REASON (R): The government controls the legislative calendar and the Speaker's discretion over admitting motions, leaving the Opposition with limited formal leverage to compel debate on issues it considers urgent.
Which of the following is correct?
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