UPSC Prelims 2000 Q3: Indian Polity – Parliament & State Legislatures
The Speaker can ask a member of the House to stop speaking and let another member speak.
This phenomenon is known as
- (a) decorum
- (b) crossing the floor
- (c) interpellation
- (d) yielding the floor
Answer: (d) yielding the floor
Explanation
When the Speaker asks a member to stop and let another speak
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Yielding the floor | A member gives way so that another member can speak |
| Crossing the floor | A member changes sides, moving from one party's benches to another's |
| Interpellation | A formal question to the government, used in some European parliaments |
| Decorum | Proper and orderly conduct in the House |
A member who has the floor has the right to speak.
When the Speaker asks that member to stop and let another member speak, the first member is said to yield the floor.
Crossing the floor means changing sides, interpellation is a formal question to the government, and decorum is the rule of orderly behaviour.
Answer: (d) yielding the floor.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. Decorum means orderly conduct, not giving the floor to another member.
- (b) Incorrect. Crossing the floor means changing sides in the House.
- (c) Incorrect. Interpellation is a formal question put to the government.
- (d) CORRECT. Giving way so that another member can speak is yielding the floor.
Key point
Crossing the floor (defection) is now covered by the Tenth Schedule anti-defection law (1985).
Remember
Yielding the floor = letting another member speak.
Common mistakes
- Confusing yielding the floor with crossing the floor.
- Taking interpellation to mean interrupting a member.
- Choosing decorum because the Speaker is enforcing order.
Exam tip
Floor = right to speak; yield it = give it to another.
Sources
- M. Laxmikanth — Indian Polity, chapter 'Parliament' (devices and terms of parliamentary proceedings)
- Lok Sabha Secretariat — Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha