How to draft parliamentary questions and send them to an MP: A step by step guide by Meghnad.
Check out the Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha website to see if the answer already exists. Try different keywords and there is a chance someone might have already asked what you are thinking of.
| Lok Sabha Question Search | Rajya Sabha Question Search |
If the question doesn’t exist, well done, you have come up with something unique! Now just go through random questions that have been asked previously. One nifty little trick is to check the Questions List for the latest and greatest questions.
Once you understand the format, draft the question and send it to your MP! Or tweet to them! Or snail mail them! The reason you need to draft it in the proper format is because it saves the MP some work and he/she is more likely to put your question in Parliament that way. It’s just easier, you see?
| Lok Sabha Members Details | Rajya Sabha Members Details |
Your MP isn’t responding (or is a minister and can’t ask questions)? Well then send it to another! Send it to ten of them. Send it to a hundred. Someone will put it in Parliament. One nice trick to find out which MP is active for filing questions is to go to PRS Legislative Research’s nifty MP track and go through some profiles to see their performance.
| Lok Sabha MP Track | Rajya Sabha MP Track |
Now there is a possibility that your MP might put in the question and it might not get selected in the random ballot. Or the question might get answered but the MP might forget to inform you. In which case, at the end of the next session, just do a keyword search on the Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha website. You will instantly find out if it was answered. If it was in the news recently, there is a high possibility there is a question on it.