Secretaries General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were on Monday asked to submit proposals on holding the Budget Session with effective safety measures, amid Covid-19 cases rising in the country and around 400 Parliament employees testing positive for the virus.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu held a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla following which they directed the Secretaries General to examine in detail the prevailing scenario and suggest effective measures for safe conduct of the upcoming Budget session.
They asked both the officials to review the adequacy of the Covid-19 protocol followed during the last Winter Session in the context of the third wave of Covid-19.
Also read: Parliamentary standing committee meetings cancelled after 400 staffers test Covid positive
The 2020 Monsoon Session was the first session held under Covid-19 protocol with Rajya sabha meeting in the first half of the day and Lok Sabha during second half. This was followed for the first part of the Budget Session 2021.
But since the second phase of Budget Session 2021, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha reverted to normal timings but members sitting in the chambers and galleries of respective Houses.
On Sunday, DH reported, 398 people working in Parliament House have tested positive for Covid-19 between January 4 and 7 prompting authorities to impose restrictions on attendance on officials and staff.
Sources said 200 from Lok Sabha Secretariat, 65 from Rajya Sabha Secretariat and 133 of allied services have tested positive for the virus infection between January 4 and 8.
Separately, a number of MPs are writing to Parliamentary Standing Committee chairmen to postpone the scheduled meetings owing to the third wave.
"I requested the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the Winter Session to allow online meetings of Standing Committees. And yet again this was disallowed. Now, important Committee meetings are being put off. I simply cannot understand why online meetings cannot be held!" Rajya Sabha Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh, who also heads the panel on Science and Technology, tweeted.
Sources had earlier said that online meetings of Parliamentary committees cannot be allowed at present as the Parliament has to clear the proposal.