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Parliament has a very important role to play in the proper functioning of democracy and addressing the issues of immense importance. But due to the paucity of time and the ocean of public issues that need to be addressed, certain important issues might take a backseat in Parliament discussions. To bridge this gap, we have a special provision in the constitution i.e. Special mention. A special mention is an important tool in the hands of parliamentarians through which they can bring forth an important public issue in parliament.
In this article, we will understand the special mention definition and other features of this provision.
Special mention definition
According to the dictionary, the special mention meaning is to highlight something or bring the attention of other people towards a particular issue. Similarly, in the rules and procedures of the Parliament of India, the provision of special mention is to bring the attention of every parliamentarian to a matter of public concern.
History of special mention provision in India:
Special mention provision is a relatively newer provision in the rules and procedures of the Indian parliament. Before the year 2000, the upper house of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) did not have any provision for highlighting a public importance matter. The rules of procedure and Conduct of business are governing rules for Rajya Sabha proceedings. Therefore a change was required in these rules for bringing forth a matter of public concern and this change came on 1st July, 2000.
Earlier, a member who feels that the house is missing out on a very important issue can go to the chairman of the house before the proceedings of the house begin. He will tell the chairman about the issue and take his permission to highlight the particular public issue when the sitting commences. After getting the permission, the issue was brought to the notice of all parliamentarians present in the sitting after the end of the question hour.
The procedure for admitting this special mention was not very well established earlier which made it problematic for the members to make a special mention. Therefore the General Purposes committee was given the matter. On 28th July 1999, the General purposes committee felt that certain specialized rules are required for proper implementation of the special mention procedure.
Then came the eighth report of the committee on rules which made certain changes to parliamentary rules including the provision of special mention. Rules 180 A and 180 E were proposed by the report and they were readily accepted by the upper house of the Parliament.
The result of all these changes is that certain important matters can be raised in Rajya Sabha. The first session conducted after this change was the 190th session of Rajya Sabha.
Procedure for making a Special mention in the house:
If a parliamentarian wishes to bring forth a matter of public concern in the house, he has to follow the below-mentioned procedure:
a. First he has to get the permission of the Chairman so that a particular matter can be raised in the house. This permission has to be taken at least a day before the actual day of raising. For getting permission, he has to submit a notice in writing. This notice form is readily available in the notice office but one has to access it before 5 pm.
b. Besides notice, the parliamentarian has to also provide a summary of the matter that he wishes to take up. This summary has a word limit of 250 words.
c. After all, such notices have been received by the chairman of the house, he will take up almost seven matters for special mention. The chairman will analyze the relevance of all the issues and then select the most appropriate ones.
d. The member who manages to get the permission of the chairman for special mention will be intimidated about the same during question hour. Then he will take up that matter in the house and the discussions would commence.
Importance of special mention provision:
It holds importance because it allows the members to raise those issues which were not under the purview of point of order. These matters are also not taken up in question hours or other discussions. Therefore this provision helps the members to bring forth a special matter and relevant queries are also forwarded to relevant ministries for redressing the problem.
Conclusion:
The Indian parliament system is based on deliberation and discussions. By allowing the members to introduce a matter of public concern through special mention, this deliberation procedure is further strengthened. Special mention meaning highlighting some matter of public concern has gone through several stages to gain its present position. As a result, we have detailed procedures for this provision in the rule book of procedures for Rajya Sabha.
