Tag: parliamentary system

President summons each House of the Parliament. Our Parliament comprises of the President and the two Houses — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Summoning is the process of calling all members of the Parliament to meet. It is the duty of President to summon each House of the Parliament from time to time. The Parliament should meet at least twice a year.

A member of the House of Parliament may ask questions from the government on matters of public interest. The ‘Question Hour’ is an important part of the parliamentary proceedings which gives the institution of Parliament the great significance it possesses. Asking of questions is an inherent and unfettered parliamentary right of members. It is during the Question Hour that the members can ask questions on every aspect of administration and Governmental activity. Government policies in national as well as international spheres come into sharp focus as the members try to elicit pertinent information during the Question Hour.

A member of House of Parliament may ask questions to the government on a particular day of the session or may just take part in the proceedings of the parliament while other members are presenting their questions.

The Monsoon session of the Parliament is called between July-August. The monsoon session is dedicated largely to discussions on matters of public interest. It is during the monsoon session that the members of the Parliament, including the ministers, can bring forward the legislative proposals in the form of a Bill. 

The formal request made by a member of the parliament to the government is called Interpellation.

Each House of the Parliament shall meet at least twice in a year. The maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months. In other words, the Parliament should meet at least twice a year. The President has the power to summon or prorogue either or both Houses of Parliament.

The quorum of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha is One-tenth of the total membership of each house. The quorum to constitute a sitting of the House is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, for both Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha. If there is no quorum, it shall be the duty of the chairman or speaker to adjourn the house or suspend the meeting.  Constitution has fixed one-tenth strength as a quorum for both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The term of individual members is six years.  Casual vacancies whenever occurring, are filled through bye-elections for the remaining term only. 

The first hour of the sitting session of Lok Sabha is the question hour. The government is obliged to answer the questions raised in this hour. The government can furnish answers orally or in writing.

The interval between two consecutive sessions shall be less than six months. The sessions of Parliament are convened at the discretion of the President. The President in his role as head of the legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament. However, there should not be a gap of more than six months between two sessions. 

Quorum indicates the members present in the parliament to conduct its proceedings. The constitution mandates that one-tenth of the total members must be present in the house to begin the proceedings of the parliament.