RS to have zero hour daily

The Rajya Sabha is set to have zero hour daily. A broad understanding to this effect was reached when leaders of various parties met with Chairman Hamid Ansari on Tuesday. At present, the House does not have a zero hour on a daily basis .

The meeting took place in the backdrop of frequent disruptions of question hour by the members wanting to raise important issues. The sources said leaders of various groups agreed with Ansari that Question Hour must remain on track. However, they felt the members do need some mechanism to articulate their views on important matters. The leaders agreed that the presiding officer allow mention of approximately 10 issues between noon and 1 pm, with each matter getting around three minutes. The one-hour time may be used for accommodating special mentions as well. The sources said a suggestion to shift question hour from morning to some other time has not met with any positive response from the members.