Budget session is starting from Monday.
New Delhi:
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday discussed preparations for the Budget session of Parliament amid a spurt in coronavirus cases.
The session will begin on Monday with President Ram Nath Kovind addressing the members of both the houses.
During the meeting, Om Birla suggested that members of both the Houses may be seated at different places by name to avoid confusion, crowding and questioning. Parliamentary sources said Naidu accepted the suggestion.
Both the Houses are meeting at different times due to COVID norms. Members of both the houses will be accommodated in the chambers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well as in the galleries to prevent crowding.
In order to implement the seating arrangement by name, the parties have been approached to prepare a list of members who will be accommodated at different locations. Seats were allocated in the chambers and galleries of both the houses based on the strength of the parties.
In view of the shortfall of one hour per sitting of both the Houses due to different timings, Naidu and Birla took stock of the time available for various works.
He underlined the need for cooperation of all sections of both the Houses for effective utilization of the available time.
While the Rajya Sabha will meet from 10 am to 3 pm, the Lok Sabha will meet from 4 pm to 9 pm.
The officials informed the two presiding officers that the Parliament House complex has been sanitized and all possible measures are being taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus. He was told that all MPs have been requested to take RT-PCR test 48 before the start of the session.
The first part of the session will end on February 11. The second part will start from 14th March and will end on 8th April.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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