As the Budget session of Parliament is expected to begin on January 29, various announcements were made by the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Om Birla, ahead of the presentation. While attending the virtual meeting of the Standing Committee of the Conference of the Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) on Monday, the speaker made various announcements regarding the precautionary measures for the forthcoming Parliament session, in light of the pandemic.
According to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the Rajya Sabha will function from 9 am to 2 pm and the Lok Sabha from 4 pm to 8 pm. All the Members of the Parliament will be requested to undergo COVID-19 tests before the start of the Parliament session. The speaker also added that RT-PCR tests will be conducted on January 27 and 28 on the Parliament premises. Necessary arrangements will also be made to conduct RT-PCR tests for the families and staff members of MPs.
“Vaccination drive policy finalised by the Centre and the states will apply to the parliamentarians as well,” Om Birla said. He added that the Question Hour will be allowed during the Parliament Session for an affixed time of one hour.
The Parliament will be resuming after a long gap, since the Monsoon Session held in September. The Winter Session which is usually held during November-December was also cancelled owing to the pandemic.
President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting on February 1, following which the Union Budget will be presented. The session is likely to conclude by April 8, with a recess of 20 days between February 15 and March 8.