Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed all the Ministers to give priority to the matters raised during 'Zero Hour' of the Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday.
While speaking with the media after the Winter Session of both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha were adjourned sine die, the Minister said the productivity of the Lok Sabha has been 82 per cent despite ruckus created by the Opposition and the reason behind was the priority given to the matters of Zero Hour.
Noting that there was a time in the last 10 years between 2004 and 2014 when members hardly get their term to raise issues of people in their constituency during Zero Hour, Joshi said "the MPs are now caught and asked to raise issues in the Zero Hour".
The Minister said it all changed due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus on issues being raised during Zero Hour of Parliament.
"Prime Minister Modi has especially directed the concerned Ministers to look into the matters raised by members during Zero Hour on priority," Joshi said.
The Minister said the Prime Minister stresses that the matters being raised during Zero Hour should listen carefully by the Ministers and act on the issues on priority in coming days.
Zero Hour is the time when Members of Parliament (MPs) can raise Issues of Urgent Public Importance. For raising matters during the Zero Hour, MPs must give the notice before 10 am to the Speaker and Chairman on the day of the sitting. The notice must state the subject they wish to raise in the House. However, Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman may allow or decline a member to raise a matter of importance.
Zero Hour' is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure. Thus, it is an informal device available to MPs to raise matters without any notice 10 days in advance. This is because, generally, the matters are of public importance and such matters cannot wait for 10 days.
( With inputs from ANI )
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