Ministers will respond in Rajya Sabha using gender-neutral terms

New Delhi: The replies given to questions in Parliament's Rajya Sabha shall be gender neutral, the Rajya Sabha secretariate informed. The new development occurred after the matter was raised by MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, IANS reported.

Responding to Chaturvedi, the RS secretariat said that the ministers would be directed to send replies in the new format. It was in August, Chaturvedi wrote the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs stating that the usage of the phrase 'No Sir' in the answers to the questions raised by women parliamentarians was wrong.

Rajya Sabha secretariat official, Swarabji B, responded and said, "I am directed to refer to your letter dated 08.08.2022 addressed to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, on the subject cited above and to inform that as per conventions and Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha, all the proceedings of the House are addressed to the Chair. Replies to the Parliamentary Questions being a part of the proceedings are also addressed to the Chairperson only."

He added, "However, the Ministries will be informed to furnish gender-neutral replies to the Parliamentary Questions from the next session of Rajya Sabha onwards."

In her letter to Minister Prahlad Joshi, Chaturvedi said, "Our Constitution is based on the principle of equality. I request you to kindly look into this practice and issue appropriate directions to address the concerned parliamentarian as per their respective gender only. Although this may seem like a small change, it will go a long way in giving women their due representation in the parliamentary process."