Parliament's Monsoon session begins today, 18 sittings to be conducted till October 1

New Delhi: The Monsoon session 2020 of Parliament is set to commence today amid strict COVID-19 precautions in place. A total of 18 sittings spread over a period of 18 days will be conducted during the monsoon session and 47 items have been identified for being taken up during the Monsoon Session 2020, said Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

This is the first parliament session after the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Therefore all safety measures have been taken to conduct the session to ensure no health risk to parliamentarians and staff. 

"As you are aware, the Monsoon Session of Parliament is commencing on 14 September 2020 and will last up to October 1 without any holiday in between. This session is being held in extraordinary circumstances. While discharging our Constitutional responsibilities, we also have to comply with all the Covid-19 related guidelines," Birla stated in the letter to parliamentarians.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday has sent a safety COVID-19 kit along with a letter to all the parliamentarians amid the pandemic. The  MPs will be given packed food in the canteen during the Monsoon session.

Among few other changes this year, the all-party meeting held prior to the parliament session also remained cancelled due to coronavirus. The all-party meeting is held to discuss the agenda and set targets before the Parliament session. In the meeting, the Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman discuss the issues and the list of Bills to be introduced in the session. 

This is the fourth session of 17th Lok Sabha and 252nd session of Rajya Sabha which is scheduled to start from today.

There will be a four-hour session for each House each day (9 am to 1 pm) for Rajya Sabha and 3 pm to 7 pm for Lok Sabha. But on the first day, only i.e. on September 14, of the Lok Sabha will meet in the morning session.

Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will not attend the first part of parliament's monsoon session as she left the national capital for her annual check-up abroad today. She is accompanied by her son, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is expected to return after a few days. 

The Zero Hour will be there and the un-starred questions will be laid on the table.

The total 11 Bills to replace ordinances are as follows: (i)The Farmers` Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020. (ii) The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Prices Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.(iii) The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020. (iv) The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020. (v) The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.(vi) The Insolvency & Bankruptcy (Second) Amendment Bill, 2020 ( vii) The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020. (viii) The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 (ix)The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (x) The Salary and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (xi) The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 are required to be passed during the ensuing Monsoon Session.