Parliament's Winter Session unlikely amid Covid-19 surge in Delhi

As Covid-19 infections surge in Delhi, the Modi government may be forced to put off the Winter Session of Parliament to early next year or merge it with the Budget Session.

“Various options are before us. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) is expected to meet soon to take a decision,” a member of the CCPA told DH.

Currently, Delhi is witnessing a third surge in Covid-19 cases with more than 6800 cases being reported on an average every day between November 1 and November 13. Delhi has so far seen more than 4.89 lakh infections since the outbreak of the pandemic of which 7,713 have succumbed to the disease.

Four Parliamentarians have succumbed to Covid-19 – Union Minister Suresh Angadi, Kanyakumari MP H Vasanthakumar, Tirupati MP Balli Durga Prasad and Rajya Sabha member Ashok Gasti.

Usually, the Winter Session of Parliament begins in the third week of November and continues December 23. There have been instances when the Winter Session was convened in December and had continued till early January.

The monsoon session of Parliament had been summoned from September 14 to October 1 with sittings also scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays amid special measures to minimise the spread of Covid-19 during the period.

However, the session had to be cut short by eight days as 40 members and a large number of support staff in Parliament tested positive for Covid-19 during the session period.

The Budget Session of Parliament begins on January 31 with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, followed by the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1.

Parliament did not have winter sessions in 1975, 1979 and 1984.

According to the Constitution, there should not be a gap of six months or more between two sessions of Parliament.