LS may move to Central Hall in Covid-19 reshuffle
NEWDELHI: To ensure the functioning of Parliament within constraints imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, Rajya Sabha (RS) chairperson Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha (LS) Speaker Om Birla have asked officials to explore the possibility of shifting the Lok Sabha proceedings to the Central Hall of Parliament for the upcoming monsoon session that usually starts in July.
They have also asked if this can be accompanied with Rajya Sabha meetings being shifted to the Lok Sabha chamber, in a move that will be unprecedented in the history of Indian Parliament.
Keeping in mind that the battle against the Covid pandemic might be a prolonged one, the presiding officers of both houses met on Monday to discuss various possibilities related to the monsoon session, said an official familiar with the development. Naidu and Birla also asked the two secretaries general of both Houses to look at the feasibility to hold the sitting of the two Houses on alternate days. In the longer term, they also explored the idea of having a virtual parliament with the use of technology.
A column in Hindustan Times, on May 22, had floated the proposal to shift the LS to the central hall, and the RS to the LS chambers.
All these measures, officials pointed out, are to ensure the government’s social distancing and health norms are adhered to while ensuring the normal functioning of the House.
Naidu and Birla “have directed the Secretaries-General to examine the feasibility of using the Central Hall of Parliament appropriately to ensure social
distancing,” said the official quoted above. “The options to be considered include; holding the meeting of Lok Sabha in the Central Hall with the Rajya Sabha shifting to the chamber of Lok Sabha and the sittings of both the Houses to be held on alternate days. The two officials were also directed to examine in detail various technical and other arrangements to be ensured to enable smooth functioning of both the Houses,” he added.
The Central Hall, right in the middle of the Parliament Building, has a capacity to hold more than 800 people. This will allow 543 members of the Lok Sabha to sit, while maintaining a degree of distance. Similarly, 245 members of the Rajya Sabha can sit comfortably in the Lok Sabha chamber, ensuring social distancing.
Chakshu Roy, head of legislative and civic engagement, PRS Legislative Research, said, “Putting the central hall for legislative functioning will be another innovative use of Parliament’s physical resources. And after a gap of 70-odd years, central hall will reverberate with the sound of spirited debate. And it’s not the first time, that the chamber of one house has been used by the other. In Hyderabad, the chambers in the legislative assembly complex were used by the two houses of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana legislatures in different shifts.”
Even as the usual schedule of the monsoon session is from July to August, the government, however, has the power to hold it later. The Constitution of India says that the gap between the last day of the previous session and the first day of the next session should not be more than six months. As the budget session of Parliament was abruptly ended on March 23 amid Covid pandemic, the government has the liberty to call the session even in September, if it wants.
The dates of the monsoon session will be decided after the proposals of cabinet committee on Parliamentary affairs proposals are cleared by the union cabinet.
Both the presiding officers also discussed the need to adopt technology to enable online Parliament sessions as a long-term option when regular meetings look possible. “They have noted that since there is no requirement of maintaining confidentiality of the proceedings of both the Houses, which are open to general public besides being telecast live, virtual Parliament is an option to be explored,” said the official. In the meeting, the two presiding officers decided to refer the issue of virtual meetings of the parliamentary standing committees to the Rules Committees of both the Houses. The two Secretaries-General gave a briefing on the possibilities of virtual meetings of various committees of Parliament. They maintained that apart from a safe technological platform, complying with the rules of confidentiality of deliberations is important.