With Parliamentary work being affected due to almost half of Parliament staff down with Covid and in isolation ahead of the crucial Budget session beginning this month end, Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday directed the secretaries general of both Houses of Parliament to examine in detail the prevailing scenario of the spread of coronavirus and suggest effective measures for the safe conduct of the upcoming session.
Sources said Naidu had called up Birla and the two took stock of the situation and directed both secretaries general accordingly. The Monsoon Session of 2020 was the first full session held under Covid protocol with the Rajya Sabha meeting in the first half of the day and Lok Sabha during the second half. The same protocol was followed for the first part of the Budget Session during 2021. Though the dates of the Budget session have not yet been announced but it usually begins at the end of January.
Amid the surge in Covid cases across the country currently and around 500 Parliament staff members testing positive for the infection, presiding officers expressed their concerns and asked officials to chalk out measures to hold a safe Budget Session. They desired review of the adequacy of covid protocol followed during the last winter session in the context of the present scenario of spread of infections, said a Parliament secretariat official.
According to sources, 65 employees of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, 200 of the Lok Sabha Secretariat and 133 of allied services tested positive for COVID-19 between January 4 and 8 during regular tests and another 100 is estimated to caught between the last two days, sources added.
For the second part of the Budget session, Monsoon and Winter sessions conducted in the year 2021, Parliament reverted to normal timings with members sitting in the chambers and galleries of respective Houses. However the restrictions continued for the visitors’ gallery and entry of media too was restrained with very limited number of media persons allowed to enter the Parliament premises.