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Patna, Bihar, India
Born and brought up in Shillong, Meghalaya.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Report card: Muslim Members of Rajya Sabha during July-Aug ’09 session

By TwoCircles.net,

Unlike their Muslim counterparts in the Lok Sabha, the majority of Muslim Members of Rajya Sabha have spoken during the July-August 2009 session of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. In this last part of the two-part series on the performance of Muslim MPs on the floor of the Parliament, we are presenting facts and figures on the participation of Muslim Members of Rajya Sabha.

While in the Lok Sabha, Asaduddin Owaisi (He represents Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh) had led Muslim MPs in asking questions and taking part in debates, in the Rajya Sabha Muhammad Ali Khan (from the same state) with 74 questions in the session is far ahead from other Muslim MPs.

Of 29 Muslim Rajya Sabha MPs whose data we collected, 11 remained mute spectators on the floor of the House during the last session. Among those who spoke, Jabir Hussain (RJD, Bihar) asked the least questions – just three – while Muhammad Ali Khan (INC, Andhra Pradesh) asked the most – 74.

Unfortunately, Rajya Sabah website do not show information about debate participation so we don't know how much our esteemed MPs participated in the house.

For Lok Sabha report Click here

Punch line: those who kept mum in the House include ones who hardly miss an opportunity to speak about the community outside the House. Prominent among them are Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U, Bihar), a known face of Muslim reservation campaign, and Muhammad Adeeb (Independent supported by Congress and SP, Uttar Pradesh).

Type of Questions

Questions are of three types:-

Starred, Unstarred and Short Notice Questions

A Starred Question is one to which a member desires an oral answer in the House and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark. When a question is answered orally, supplementary questions can be asked thereon. Only 20 questions can be listed for oral answer on a day.

An Unstarred Question: is one which is not called for oral answer in the House and on which no supplementary questions can consequently be asked. To such a question, a written answer is deemed to have been laid on the Table after the Question Hour by the Minister to whom it is addressed. It is printed in the official report of the sitting of the House for which it is put down. Only 230 questions can be listed for written answer on a day.

A Short Notice Question is one which relates to a matter of urgent public importance and can be asked with shorter notice than the period of notice prescribed for an ordinary question. Like a starred question, it is answered orally followed by supplementary questions.



Name: Mr Abdul Wahab Peevee
Age: 59
Conctituency: Kerala
Party name: Muslim League

Click here to read more