- SESSIONS OF PARLIAMENT
- MOTIONS
UNIT 9 – THE PARLIAMENT – PART 4
SESSIONS OF PARLIAMENT
Every year, the Members of Parliament meet during specified periods, called as sessions, to carry out the legislative functions of the Union.
PARLIAMENTARY TERMINOLOGIES
S.No | Term | Meaning |
1 | Summoning | It is the ordering of the houses of Parliament to assemble at a specified time for carrying out the legislative functions of the Union. The President summons each house separately. |
2 | Session | It is the time duration in which the houses of Parliament are ordered to be present for carrying out their legislative functions. Usually the duration of a session extends over 2 to 4 months. |
3 | Sitting | During a session, the houses of Parliament meet almost every day to carry out their business, called as meetings. Each meeting consists of two sittings, a morning sitting and a post-lunch sitting. |
4 | Adjournment | It is the termination and postponement of a sitting of a house for a specified time period. |
5 | Adjournment sine die | It is the termination and postponement of a sitting of a house for an indefinite period. |
6 | Prorogation | It is the termination of a session of Parliament by the President. |
A session is the time duration in which the houses of Parliament meet almost everyday to carry out their legislative functions. Every year, the Parliament meets in three sessions such as
- The Budget Session (February to May)
- The Monsoon Session (July to September)
- The Winter Session (November and December)
The maximum gap between two sessions should not exceed six months. A session is usually terminated by prorogation. In the event of dissolution of LS, the session in work also gets terminated.
MOTIONS
A motion is a tool available with the Members of Parliament to initiate a discussion on the matters of public importance. It can be moved either by a minister or a private member or a group of members with the prior permission of the presiding officer of the house. The presiding officer will decide on whether a motion deserves the time of the house and needs to be discussed.
TYPES OF MOTIONS:
- CLOSURE MOTION:
It is moved by a member to curtail the discussions on a particular matter and put it for voting.
- ADJOURNMENT MOTION:
It is moved by a member to adjourn the normal business of the house and take up an urgent matter of public importance for discussion. It is a kind of condemnation against the government, hence it can be used only by the Lok Sabha. This motion needs the support of 50 member to be admitted.
- PRIVILEGE MOTION:
It is moved by a member against a minister in the case of breach of privileges of the house such as with holding the facts or providing false facts.
- CALLING ATTENTION MOTION:
It is moved by a member against a minister to call his attention towards a matter of public importance and also to seek an authoritative statement from him on the matter.
- NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION:
It is moved generally by a member from the opposition party against the entire council of ministers. If it is passed by a simple majority, then the entire council of ministers have to resign. It can be moved only in Lok Sabha with the support of 50 members.
- CONFIDENCE MOTION:
It is moved by the Prime Minister under the direction of the President to demonstrate the majority support enjoyed by the government in the Lok Sabha. It is also called as ‘Trust Vote’. If both the motion of no-confidence and the motion of confidence are moved, the Speaker has to give precedence to the motion of confidence.
- MOTION OF THANKS:
The President addresses the houses of Parliament during the first session after every general election and the first session of a every year. In his address he outlines the policies of the government. His address will be moved as a motion for discussions called as motion of thanks. If this motion is not passed when put to vote, it means the defeat of the government.
- NO-DAY-YET-NAMED MOTION:
It is a motion which has been accepted by the Speaker but no specific date has been allotted for its discussion.
- Censure Motion:
It is moved by a member against a particular minister or a group of ministers or the entire council of ministers condemning their policies or actions. It can be moved only in the Lok Sabha.