No all-party meeting ahead of Parliament's monsoon session due to COVID-19

No all-party meeting will be held this year prior to the monsoon session of the Parliament due to coronavirus, said government. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi was scheduled to hold the all-party meeting which is now canceled to avoid any kind of health risk due to the coronavirus.

New Delhi: No all-party meeting will be held this year prior to the monsoon session of the Parliament due to coronavirus, said government. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi was scheduled to hold the all-party meeting which is now cancelled to avoid any kind of health risk due to the 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. 

However, the Business Advisory Committee of Rajya Sabha is scheduled to conduct a meeting in Parliament at 11 am on Sunday.

The Monsoon Session of the Parliament is scheduled to commence on Monday and is slated to conclude on October 1. There will be no question hour and private members' business during the monsoon session.

All employees and officials will undergo an RT-PCR COVID-19 test ahead of the session. While the attendance of parliamentarians will be recorded through a mobile app designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to combat COVID-19 spread.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had earlier said that 257 members will be seated in the Lok Sabha hall, 172 in the Lok Sabha gallery, 60 in Rajya Sabha, and 51 in the Rajya Sabha gallery owing to the coronavirus crisis.

Birla also said that Chambers will be sanitised and MPS will have to undergo the RT-PCR test before being allowed to attend the session. He further claimed that this monsoon session will be 'historic' as it is being held amidst a pandemic that is raging across the country.

On the first day of the Session on September 14, the Lower House will meet from 9 am to 1 pm, and sitting in the Upper House will begin at 3 pm to 7 pm. On subsequent days, proceedings in Rajya Sabha will be held from 9 am till 1 pm while the time for Lok Sabha sittings has been fixed from 3 pm to 7 pm.

(With ANI inputs)