Motions

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Motion

Motion is a procedure device through which the work of the legislature is carried on. It is a proposal by an MP to express his/her opinion. No discussion on a matter of general public importance can take place except on a motion made with the consent of the presiding officer. The House expresses its decisions or opinions on various issues through the adoption or rejection of motions moved by either ministers or private members.

A motion goes through the following four stages:

• Moving of the motion – the member proposing the motion will introduce the motion.
• Proposing the question by the Speaker/Chairman – the Speaker/Chairman allow the motion by admiting it.
• Debate or discussion where permissible – discussions or debates on the matter in the motion are not allowed in all cases; only in a few types of motions debates or discussion are allowed.
• Voting or decision of the house – the matter in the motion is voted on.

All motions fall into three principal categories:

1. Substantive Motion
2. Substitute Motion
3. Subsidiary Motion

Some Important Motions

Closure Motion

It is a motion moved by a member to cut short the debate on a matter before the House. If the motion is approved by the House, debate is stopped forthwith and the matter is put to vote. There are four kinds of closure motions:

1. Simple Closure: It is one when a member moves that the ‘matter having been sufficiently discussed be now put to vote’.
2. Closure by Compartments: In this case, the clauses of a bill or a lengthy resolution are grouped into parts before the commencement of the debate. The debate covers the part as a whole and the entire part is put to vote.
3. Kangaroo Closure: Under this type, only important clauses are taken up for debate and voting and the intervening clauses are skipped over and taken as passed.
4. Guillotine Closure: It is one when the undiscussed clauses of a bill or a resolution are also put to vote along with the discussed ones due to want of time (as the time allotted for the discussion is over).

Privilege Motion

It is moved by a member when he feels that a minister has committed a breach of privilege of the House or one or more of its members by withholding facts of a case or by giving wrong or distorted facts. Its purpose is to censure the concerned minister.

Calling Attention Motion

It is introduced in the Parliament by a member with prior permission of the speaker to call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance, and to seek an authoritative statement from him on that matter. The minister may make a brief statement or ask for the time to make a statement at later hour or date. Like the zero hour, it is also an Indian innovation in the parliamentary procedure and has been in existence since 1954. However, unlike the zero hour, it is mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.

Adjournment Motion

• Setting aside normal business of the house for discussing a matter of urgent public importance It is introduced in the Parliament to draw attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance, and needs the support of 50 members to be admitted. As it interrupts the normal business of the House, it is regarded as an extraordinary device. It involves an element of censure against the government and hence Rajya Sabha is not permitted to make use of this device. The discussion on an adjournment motion should last for not less than two hours and thirty minutes.

The right to move a motion for an adjournment of the business of the House is subject to the following restrictions: 1. It should raise a matter which is definite, factual, urgent and of public importance; 2. It should not cover more than one matter; 3. It should be restricted to a specific matter of recent occurrence and should not be framed in general terms; 4. It should not raise a question of privilege; 5. It should not revive discussion on a matter that has been discussed in the same session; 6. It should not deal with any matter that is under adjudication by court; and 7. It should not raise any question that can be raised on a distinct motion.

No-Confidence Motion

Article 75 of the Constitution says that the council of ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. It means that the ministry stays in office so long as it enjoys confidence of the majority of the members of the Lok Sabha. In other words, the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office by passing a no-confidence motion. The motion needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.

Censure Motion

A censure motion is different from a no-confidence motion as shown in following table:

Censure Motion	No confidence Motion
It should state the reason of its adoption in Lok Sabha.	Need not state the reason of its adoption in Lok Sabha.
It can be moved against an individual minister or a group of ministers of the entire council of ministers.	It can be moved against the entire council of ministers only.
It is moved for censuring the council of ministers for specific policies and actions.	It is moved for ascertaining the confidence of Lok Sabha in the council of ministers.
If it is passed in Lok Sabha, the council of ministers need not resign from office.	If it is passed in Lok Sabha, the council of ministers must resign from office.

Censure Motion and No-confidence motion can be introduced only in Lok Sabha.

Motion of Thanks

The first session after each general election and the first session of every fiscal year is addressed by the president. In this address, the president outlines the policies and programmes of the government in the preceding year and ensuing year. This address of the president, which corresponds to the ‘speech from the Throne in Britain’, is discussed in both the Houses of Parliament on a motion called the ‘Motion of Thanks’. At the end of the discussion, the motion is put to vote. This motion must be passed in the House. Otherwise, it amounts to the defeat of the government. This inaugural speech of the president is an occasion available to the members of Parliament to raise discussions and debates to examine and criticise the government and administration for its lapses and failures.

No-Day-Yet-Named Motion

It is a motion that has been admitted by the Speaker but no date has been fixed for its discussion. The Speaker, after considering the state of business in the House and in consultation with the leader of the House or on the recommendation of the Business Advisory Committee, allots a day or days or part of a day for the discussion of such a motion.

Point of Order

A member can raise a point of order when the proceedings of the House do not follow the normal rules of procedure. A point of order should relate to the interpretation or enforcement of the Rules of the House or such articles of the Constitution that regulate the business of the House and should raise a question that is within the cognizance of the Speaker. It is usually raised by an opposition member in order to control the government. It is an extraordinary device as it suspends the proceedings before the House. No debate is allowed on a point of order.

Half-an-Hour Discussion

It is meant for discussing a matter of sufficient public importance, which has been subjected to a lot of debate and the answer to which needs elucidation on a matter of fact. The Speaker can allot three days in a week for such discussions. There is no formal motion or voting before the House.

Short Duration Discussion

It is also known as two-hour discussion as the time allotted for such a discussion should not exceed two hours. The members of the Parliament can raise such discussions on a matter of urgent public importance. The Speaker can allot two days in a week for such discussions. There is neither a formal motion before the house nor voting. This device has been in existence since 1953.

Special Mention

A matter which is not a point of order or which cannot be raised during question hour, half-an hour discussion, short duration discussion or under adjournment motion, calling attention notice or under any rule of the House can be raised under the special mention in the Rajya Sabha. Its equivalent procedural device in the Lok Sabha is known as ‘Notice (Mention) Under Rule 377’.