How the Indian Parliament really operates?

Each House has a Roll of Members which is to be signed by every member before taking his seat. Every member should also make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in order to formally assume his seat.

With the Speaker or any other presiding officer in the Chair and in the presence of at least one-tenth of its total membership which is the quorum, the House can begin its business. If at any time during a meeting of the House there is no quorum, the presiding officer will either adjourn or suspend the work of the House.

Normally, all questions are decided by a majority of the votes of members present and voting. The presiding officer may vote only when the House is equally divided.

The first hour of each sitting is devoted to Parliamentary questions and interpellations. Normally, this is the time when the House is most lively. The main purpose of questions is to seek information and draw attention to grievances of public importance.

There are elaborate Rules of Procedure to determine the admissibility of questions. The Speaker’s decision in this respect is final. Usually every question is sent days in advance of the session so that all relevant information is collected in the department concerned and transmitted to the House. There is, however, a provision for asking short notice questions under certain conditions.

After the question hour the House takes up, item by item, the business that is allotted for the day. The business takes different forms and, for each of these, a separate procedure is prescribed.

The more important of these which deserve special mention are adjournment motions, resolutions, no- confidence motions, and other motions for discussion, legislative business and financial business.

There are also other types of business such as statements on policy made by Ministers from time to time and laying of papers and documents on the Table of the House. In the latter case, the Minister concerned will rise in his seat and make a formal statement drawing the attention of the House to the document that is placed on the Table.

Adjournment motions are an unusual feature. A motion for adjournment is meant to draw the attention of the House to a matter of public importance which has arisen suddenly and which deserves immediate attention.

It should deal with a specific matter of recent occurrence and of urgent public importance. Such a motion is intended to focus the attention of the House to a particular action or inaction of the Government. It also compels the Government to act in a manner that is appropriate to the situation on penalty of otherwise losing the confidence of the House.

A Resolution is a device by which the House is made to declare an opinion on a particular matter. A Resolution should deal with only one issue and should be worded clearly and precisely. It should not contain arguments, imputations or defamatory statements nor refer to the conduct and character of persons except in their official or public capacity.

No-confidence or censure motions are a rare feature. A censure motion is an expression of want of confidence in the Ministry. Permission to move such a motion will be given only if at least fifty members in the House rise in support of it.

If leave is granted to move the motion, a date is fixed for discussion and the Speaker may allot one or more days for the purpose. Resort to a no-confidence motion is not usually made unless the Opposition has a reasonable chance of defeating the Ministry. But sometimes it is also made use of as a political weapon to discredit a Ministry or highlight its various failures in the public eye with a view to bringing down its prestige.

Under the Rules of Procedure, a member can, with the consent of the Speaker move a motion for the discussion of a matter of general public interest. If admitted, the Speaker will allot a day or more for its discussion.

The possibility of such discussion depends upon the availability of time during a particular session. Sometimes, the Government itself may bring forward such motions in view of the importance of the matter involved.

This provision is, in a way, one that enables members as well as the Government to bring to the floor of the House any matter of public importance which is not covered by legislative proposals and other parliamentary business.

There is also provision to cut short the discussion on any matter by moving what is known as a “closure motion”. Any member can move such a motion and if the House adopts it, discussion is stopped forthwith and the matter before the House is voted upon.

Sometimes when the time set for a particular measure is already over despite the fact that the discussion on all its parts has not been completed, a vote is taken on the motion before the House. Then the rest of the measure is put to vote without discussion. This procedure is described as the “guillotine”.

There are at present 389 Rules which regulate the procedure in the House covering every aspect of its activities. These are supplemented by “Directions by the Speaker”. There are 123 such Directions by the Speaker which are codified for the use of members and others concerned.

Taken together, these form the foundations of Parliamentary procedure in India which facilitate the orderly transaction of business in Parliament. But the picture is not complete with these alone.

One must add to it the numerous rulings of the presiding officers, precedents and conventions, all of which, in a substantial measure, serve the successful working of the Houses of Parliament.