Winter session of Maharashtra legislature may not be held in Nagpur

The winter session of the state legislature, slated to be held from December 7, is unlikely to be held in Nagpur this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the possibility

The winter session of the state legislature, slated to be held from December 7, is unlikely to be held in Nagpur this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the possibility of surge in Covid-19 cases after Diwali. The state government is expected to curtail the session to one week and hold it in Mumbai. The decision on the matter is expected to be taken in the business advisory committee (BAC) meeting to be held on Tuesday.

After a review meeting in Nagpur this week, the state legislature administration has reportedly arrived at the conclusion in view of the risk in holding the session in Nagpur. Holding the session in Nagpur requires shifting and mobilising government staff including security agencies from all across the state. At least 5,000 people including legislators, political workers, and state staff are expected to attend the session if it is held in Nagpur.

“The staff members, security personnel need to report to the Nagpur office of legislature at least two weeks prior to the commencement of the session. They will have to be kept in isolation at least for a few days. In addition, if 5,000 people attend the session, it will lead to the risk of spread of the virus. After visiting various offices that are involved in conducting the session earlier this week, we have come to the conclusion that it is very risky to conduct the winter session in Nagpur. We will submit our report, but the final call has to be taken by the state government during the BAC meeting on Tuesday,” said an official from the legislature.

He said that 57 people were found positive during the state legislature’s monsoon session held on September 7 and 8.

According to officials, the state too is not keen on holding the session in Nagpur. “The government had asked for the report on Parliament’s plan to hold its winter session. The parliament secretariat has informed us that they could cancel the winter session and directly hold the budget session in January-February. We are unlikely to cancel it as it could lead to criticism, but it can be curtailed to one week instead of the traditional duration of two weeks. It is likely to be held in Mumbai,” an official from Mantralaya said.

Though the state legislature has been tapping the possibility of holding the session online, it has been facing technical difficulties. Another official said an online session needs a lot of manpower as every legislator will need to be assisted with a technical assistant at his/her residence and that there might be difficulties in giving opportunity to members to speak on any subject. Connectivity is another problem in holding the session online.