Rahul Gandhi was among prominent speakers who participated in the Zero Hour.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: A day after a marathon sitting to pass the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha on Thursday created another record when over 200 MPs, including several from Karnataka, participated in Zero Hour that extended nearly five hours raising issues of public importance.
Fulfilling a promise made by Speaker Om Birla at the Business Advisory Committee to allow a maximum number of MPs to speak in the House, sources said it was decided to take up legislative business towards evening and Zero Hour, which started at 12 noon, concluded at 4:53 PM.
According to Lok Sabha officials, 202 MPs participated in Zero Hour raising several issues. On 18 July, 2019, 161 MPs had spoken during the extended Zero Hour.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was prominent among them, raising questions over the Modi government's handling of China border row and US tariffs. BJP's Anurag Thakur and Nishikant Dubey countered Rahul when they got an opportunity.
Senior Congress MP KC Venugopal raised the issue of attack on Mohanlal-starrer L2:Empuran.
From Karnataka, MPs who spoke included Prabha Mallikarjun, CN Manjunath, Tejashwi Surya, Shreyas M Patel, M Mallesh Babu, Captain Brijesh Chowtha, Yaduveer Wadiyar, Gaddigoudar Parvtagouda Chandanguda and Sagar Khandre.
Other prominent MPs who raised issues during Zero Hour were Kodikkunnil Suresh, Kumari Selja, Engineer Suresh, Arvind Sawant, Rajiv Pratap Rudi, Tariq Anwar, Pappu Yadav, Anil Desai and Harsimrat Kaur.