E-Paper
Parliament winter session could begin from fourth week of Nov: Report
The winter session of Parliament was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The winter session of Parliament is likely to commence from the fourth week of November and will be held following by strictly adhering to Covid-19 protocols, people familiar with the developments told news agency PTI.
The session will also conclude ahead of Christmas and will likely hold around 20 sittings.
The winter session of Parliament was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic led to curtailing of the budget and the monsoon sessions as well. There has been no official announcement but according to the PTI report, the session could begin from November 29 and end around December 23.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha sessions will be held simultaneously but the members will have to follow social distancing norms. The first few sessions could be held at separate timings to ensure that not many people are present inside the Parliament complex. The parliamentarians during the winter session will be required to wear masks all the time and could be asked to undergo Covid-19 test.
The winter session is significant as it is being held months before the legislative assembly elections in five states including the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh. The issues related to inflation, rise in fuel prices, rise in prices of edible oil, recent attacks on civilians in Kashmir and the continuing protests by farmer’s groups are likely to be raised by the Opposition to corner the government.
The monsoon session was marked by protests by the Opposition who wanted answers from the government over the Pegasus spyware issue and repeal of the farmer’s law. It was curtailed sine die two days ahead of its scheduled adjournment. The government during the monsoon session successfully managed to introduce 15 bills and get Parliament’s approval for 20. According to a report by HT, the monsoon session saw the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha function for just 22% and 28% of their allocated time - lowest since the winter session of 2016.
