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Budget session: Parliament norms tweaked amid Covid concerns
The safety measures include seat assignments, shortened zero hour sessions and lawmakers urged to take RT-PCR tests 48 hours before the Budget session.
New Delhi: Seat assignments, shortened zero hour sessions and lawmakers urged to take RT-PCR tests 48 hours before the Budget session -- Parliament authorities have put in place several measures to ensure a smooth session amid the latest surge of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But officials indicated on Sunday that depending on the pandemic situation before the second half of the session, to be held between March 14 and April 8, the session would return to the normal schedule in March.
Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met on Sunday evening to take stock of the final preparations for the session -- scheduled to start on February 1 -- that is also the longest of the three sessions in the calendar year.
According to a functionary present at the meeting, a limited number of MPs will be seated in their original seats and others wil occupy the gallery, with some sitting in the other House. “Birla suggested that Members of both the Houses may be seated at different locations by name to avoid confusion, crowding and enquiries. This was welcomed by Naidu,” said the functionary, requesting anonymity.
Secretaries general of both the Houses will reach out to the parties to finalise this seating arrangement for their MPs. Seats would be allotted in chambers and galleries of both the Houses based on the strength of parties.
Contrary to earlier speculation,Question Hour would be held daily for 60 minutes but the Rajya Sabha is set to cut down the hour-long Zero Hour by 30 minutes as both Houses will get an hour less in the current arrangement, the official said. Lok Sabha is yet to decide the length of the Zero Hour.
In the 2021 budget session, over 15 hours were spent in discussing the President speech and another eleven hours for budget debate. “This year, we might allot the same time but in the first half of this session, there would also be some time for the government to bring legislations,” said a senior Rajya Sabha official.
Naidu and Birla were also informed that all MPs have been requested to take RTPCR test 48 before the commencement of the Session.
