After a year, Parliament gears up for full session
NEW DELHI: Parliament is gearing up to hold its first full session in over a year next week amid some relaxations, including a revised seating arrangement for MPS as Covid cases in the country have reduced considerably over the past month. But a ban on the entry of visitors, no access to Central Hall for former MPS and the media, and strict social distancing norms will remain in place, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said after a review of preparations on Monday.
People aware of the matter said that the Congress party has called the meeting of its Parliament strategy group on Wednesday to decide its floor tactics. The virtual meeting will be attended by president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Rajya Sabha leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh, among other leaders. The Congress is keen to raise issues such as the Centre’s vaccination policy, the economic situation and price rise, the people cited above added.
With a week to go for the session, which runs from July 19 to August 13, speaker Om Birla said that about 311, or 58%, of 540 Lok Sabha MPS have been administered both doses of the Covid vaccine, and most of the remaining MPS have got at least one shot. Those who are yet to take their first shots — mainly because they contracted the virus in recent weeks — will be required to take RT-PCR tests.
Over the past two sessions, MPS from both Rajya Sabha and
Lok Sabha were seated in a dispersed arrangement that included members of one House sitting in the other and following the proceedings on giant screens. Both Houses were convened in shifts to enable this system to work.
This time, MPS will sit in their own Houses, but some lawmakers may have to sit in the galleries to avoid crowding, the speaker said.
“Adequate measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the members. MPS who have taken at least one dose of vaccination will not be required to undertake the RT-PCR test. Visitors will not be allowed during the session,” Birla told reporters.
Ambulances, health centres, Covid testing facilities have also been kept ready for the session, he added.
An all-party meeting will be organised on July 18 to discuss the agendas of the Treasury and Opposition members. Question Hour and Zero Hour will be conducted as per the usual norms.
A senior Opposition leader said that a joint meeting of the Opposition’s floor leaders will take place before the session. The anti-bharatiya Janata Party camp could not manage organised debates on these issues due to paucity of time in the last two sessions. This time, they expect to get at least two short duration discussions and call attention to debates.
Birla stressed that despite Covid, the current Lok Sabha has transacted record business during its first five sessions compared to the previous Lok Sabhas.
He urged the members not to resort to disruptions and “focus on raising issues through proper debate and discussion”.