New Delhi: The Congress Wednesday demanded a response from the government over the “withdrawal” of a starred question in Lok Sabha, despite it being listed to be answered during the Question Hour. The question, which pertained to bidding for offshore mining in the Andaman and Arabian seas, came from two BJP MPs from Odisha, Aparajita Sarangi and Balabhadra Majhi.
When contacted, sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat told ThePrint the MPs had withdrawn the question. Lok Sabha records later simply mentioned that the question had been deleted from the list of questions.
Under the Lok Sabha rules, ministers are expected to orally respond to starred questions from MPs, who can also ask supplementary questions.
The BJP MPs’ question was the first in the queue to be taken up for “oral answers”, as per records uploaded on the Lok Sabha website. However, during Question Hour, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla directly picked up the second question on the list, seconds before the proceedings were adjourned.
“Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state: (a) the total number of bids received for each of the 13 offshore mining blocks auctioned across Arabian and Andaman Sea and the number of bidders shortlisted for the purpose…” the question read.
The BJP MPs also sought details on the total number of fishing communities and villages located within a radius of 20 nautical miles of each auctioned mining block and details of socio-economic impact assessments carried out before bidding.
They also inquired about the expected employment generation potential from these offshore mining projects. But during Question Hour, Birla picked up the next question in the list from BJP MP Naveen Jindal on the “operational efficiency of public distribution system”.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, who represents the Alappuzha constituency in the Lok Sabha, flagged the matter, questioning the “abrupt deletion” of the question. The Congress, he said, has also persistently raised the issue and was expecting clarity from the government.
“But shockingly, after uploading the question list in the public domain, the question was mysteriously withdrawn at the last minute without any explanation. Why was this question pulled out? What forced this abrupt deletion? Who is the government trying to protect? Was it because the Government’s dubious offshore mining policy was about to be exposed in broad daylight? This kind of procedural manipulation raises serious questions about transparency and the state of our democracy,” Venugopal wrote on X.
He told ThePrint, “What must be asked is who put pressure on them (BJP MPs) to withdraw the question?”
A former Parliament official said that according to the rules, the Speaker, whose approval is required for questions to be admitted, cannot skip a question without giving reasons for holding it up.
“He needs to announce as to why a particular question is being held over and that is also mentioned as a footnote in the written proceedings of the House. Also, members can also withdraw their questions but once it is listed it becomes a property of the House. Withdrawing without citing any reason is unprecedented,” the person familiar with the rules said, on the condition of anonymity.
Sarang and Manjhi did not respond to calls and texts seeking their response on the matter.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: Opposition has the lost art of parliamentary etiquette & repartee
