To end on Sept 23; final decision to be taken by Cabinet Committee
The rising number of Covid-19 infection among the Members of Parliament has compelled the authorities to cut short the duration of the ongoing Monsoon Session.
The session is now expected to be terminated on September 23 instead of its scheduled October 1 closure.
The decision was taken on Saturday at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) chaired by Speaker Om Birla, said officials, adding that final decision will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
The meeting was appraised that more than 264 people were found positive in the mandatory test. They included 30 MPs and staffers and media persons.
The present RT-PCR Test has to be taken 72 hours before arrival in the House. Already three sitting MPs have succumbed to Covid-19 and currently 30 MPs are found positive in the test.
Apart from staffers and media persons, security personnel are also subjected to the mandatory testing. Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel have tested positive in the tests. Three MPs have already died of Covid-19.
Government officials accompanying their respective Ministers during Bill discussions also have to show a negative report of RT-PCR test taken within the last 72 hours of their visit to the complex.
“Since the commencement of the Session the number of positive cases has gone up, so the Government is thinking of cutting short the session. Next week also many have to undergo mandatory tests and the number of positive cases is rising,” said an official.
Before ending the session, the Government wants to get 11 ordinances passed as laws by Parliament, sources said.
At Lok Sabha’s business advisory committee meeting several Opposition parties said that they are in the favour of the decision, asserting that conducting the full 18-day session could be a risky affair.
The meeting also appraised that among the 264 total cases including MPs, the majority are from the staffers.