Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on 8th December informed the house that the timing of sittings on Fridays has been changed to match it with the timings of the Lok Sabha. The VP said when DMK MP Tiruchi N. Siva pointed out that in the revised list of businesses, an agenda was listed at 2 PM on Friday, 8th December.
He raised the matter because as per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha, extra lunch break of 30 minutes is given on Fridays, to enable Muslim upper house members to offer namaz. As per the rulebook, the Rajya Sabha sites from 11 AM to 1 PM, and then from 2 PM to 6 PM, giving one hour lunch break from 1 PM to 2 PM. But on Fridays, the house sits after lunch at 2.30 PM. Although not mentioned, it is understood this extra break is allowed on Fridays for namaz.
The DMK MP raised the matter during zero hour on Friday, shortly after the house sat for businesses, raising a point of order.
However, as MP Tiruchi N. Siva mentioned, this ‘namaz’ break has been removed from the Rajya Sabha. But, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that it is not something that started this Friday, and this has been in practice for sometime now. “Hon. Members, this is not being done from today. This has already been done earlier by me and the reason was given,” he said.
The house chairman said that the Friday timing has been changed to match it with Lok Sabha. Notably, there is no ‘namaz’ break on Fridays in Lok Sabha, this practice was in the Rajya Sabha only. “Lok Sabha sits at 2 PM. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, being integral part of Parliament, need to adhere to the same time to the extent possible and, therefore, it was 2 PM on an earlier occasion as directed by me. So, this is not a beginning today,” Jagdeep Dhankhar said.
Another DMK MP M. Mohamed Abdulla then intervened to object to the decision. He said, “ this has been the practice for such a long time, for 60-70 years.” He continued, “Sir, 2.30 PM was fixed for the purpose of Muslim Members for their jumma on Fridays. It was the practice.”
However, VP Dhankar said that parliament has members from all communities, and there can’t be a specific exception for Muslim parliamentarians only.
He said, “Hon. Members, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have Members drawn from all sections of the society. Lok Sabha sits at 2 PM. There are Members from every segment. Consciously, after due deliberation, I had effected it, indicated to the House and this was already in place in the last Session. It was stated that the House will meet after lunch at 2 p.m. being in conformity with the timeframe indicated by Lok Sabha.”
After the chairman reiterated that this change in timing was implemented in the last session and it was already explained to the members, there were no more protests from the members.
However, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha published on the Sansad Website has not been updated yet, and the 2016 edition document still shows extra lunch break of 30 minutes on Fridays.
