LS secretariat underlines confidentiality of Govt's replies to members

PTI, NEW DELHI, NOV 23, 2023 : The Lok Sabha secretariat has underscored the confidentiality of government's replies to MPs during the Question Hour in the House and asked them to access their portal only for their exclusive use, a development triggered by the raging "cash-for-query" row involving TMC MP Mahua Moitra.

"It may be noted that since the replies are log-in and password protected on the Members' Portal, they are exclusively for the use of Members only," the Lok Sabha secretariat said in its bulletin dated November 10, a day after the House's Ethics Committee recommended Moitra's expulsion. 

Members are, therefore, requested to maintain confidentiality of the replies and not to share the contents with others until the Question Hour is over, it added. 

It informed MPs that the contents of reply made in response to a question is "strictly confidential" until the question for oral answer has been asked and answered in the House. 

Incase a question could not come up for oral answer, the reply to the question should not be released till the conclusion of Question Hour, the Lok Sabha secretariat added.

"Questions included in the lists of written answers are also to be treated as confidential until the same have been laid on the Table of the House after the Question Hour is over," itsaid. 

Sources said the Lok Sabha has merely reiterated the same set of existing rules about confidentiality in the wake of the episode involving Moitra.