Some Parliamentary Terms

Quorum A Quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group. Quorum for either House is 1/10th of the total number of members of each House including the presiding officer.
Penalty If a person sits or votes as a member of either House of the Parliament before he has complied with the requirements of Article 99 (oath) or when he knows that he is not qualified or that he is disqualified for membership thereof, he shall be liable in respect of each day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of ` 500 to be recovered as a debt to the union.
Parliamentary Privileges Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their committees and their members. Privileges are provided in Article 105 (Union Legislature) and Article 194 (State Legislature) of the Constitution. Parliamentary privileges can be classified into two broad categories: collective privileges and individual privileges.
Collective Privileges The privileges belonging to each House of Parliament collectively are • It can exclude strangers from its proceedings and hold secret sittings to discuss some important matters.
• It can make rules to regulate its own procedure and the conduct of its business and to adjudicate upon such matters. • The courts are prohibited to enquire into the proceedings of a House or its committees.
Individual Privileges The privileges belonging to the members individually are • They cannot be arrested during the session of Parliament and 40 days before the beginning and 40 days after the end of a session. This privilege is available only in civil cases and not in criminal cases. • They have freedom of speech in Parliament. No member is liable to any proceedings in any court for anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament.
Question Hour The first hour of every sitting in both Houses (11 am to 12 pm). In this, questions are asked by members and answered by ministers. Question hour is an important mechanism through which Executive's accountability is brought about. There are three types of questions (i) A Starred Question It requires oral answers. Supplementaries can be asked. (ii) An Unstarred Question requires a written answer and hence, no supplementary questions can be asked. (iii) A Short Notice Questions These are the ones which relates to matters of urgent public importance and can be asked by members with notice shorter than ten days prescribed for an ordinary question. It is answered orally.
Zero Hour the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known as zero hour. This time is allotted everyday for miscellaneous business, call-attention notices, questions on official statements and adjournment motions. It has been in existence since 1962.
Motion It is a proposal brought before the House for its opinion or decision. The different types of motions are
Adjournment Motion It leads to setting aside the normal business of the Houses for discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance.
Call-Attention Motion A member (after permission from the speaker) calls the attention of the minister to any matter of 'urgent public importance'. There is no call-attention motion in the Rajya Sabha. Instead, there exists a motion called 'motion for papers'.
Censure Motion It can be moved only in the Lok Sabha and only by the opposition. It can be brought against the ruling government or against any minister for the failure of an act or seeking disapproval of their policy. A censure motion must specify the charges against the government for which it is moved.
No Confidence Motion It can be moved only in the Lok Sabha and only by the opposition. It needs the support of 50 members to be admitted. It can be brought only against the Council of Ministers and not against any individual minister. A No Confidence Motion, need not to specify the reasons, for which it has been moved. If it is passed, the Government has to resign.
PrivilegeMotion A resolution introduced by the opposition that a minister has mislead the House by giving wrong information.
Cut Motions They are moved in the Lok Sabha only. They are related to the budgetary process which seeks to reduce the amount for grants. The Cut Motion can be divided into three categories : policy cut, economy cut and token cut.
Lame Duck Session This refers to the last session of the existing Lok Sabha which is held after a new Lok Sabha has been elected after the general election.
Whip A directive issued by any political party to ensure the support of its members voting in favour or against a particular issue on the floor of the House. A person may lose the membership of the party and the legislature if he votes against the whip or abstains from voting.
Gerry Mandering It is the reorganisation of electoral districts attempted by the ruling party to gain some electoral advantage in the forthcoming elections.
Guillotine When due to lack of time, demand for grants are put to vote whether they are discussed or not in the House on the last day of the allotted time, it is called Guillotine and it concludes the discussion on demands for grants.