Speaker says it is not right to question Chair outside House

A day after Rahul Gandhi said he was not allowed to ask supplementary questions in Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday (March 17) it was not right to raise questions on decisions of the Chair outside the House.

His remarks came after the House took up a question related to cold storage for fish, where many supplementaries were asked. It took around 20 minutes before the Speaker moved to the next question.

Birla has always been emphasising in the House that questions as well as answers should be kept short so that more issues can be taken up during the Question Hour.

On Tuesday, some members, including from the Congress, wanted to ask supplementary questions.

“If one question takes around 15-20 minutes… and then saying supplementary questions are not being allowed after 12 (noon) is not good,” Birla said.

He also said that raising questions against the decision of the Chair outside the House is not right.

On Monday, the Congress leader said his right as an MP to ask a supplementary question in Lok Sabha was taken away as the Speaker did not allow him to ask one.