Coronavirus Lockdown: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha may sit on alternate days for monsoon session

Parliament is mulling to hold sittings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on alternate days during the upcoming monsoon session amid COVID-19 besides looking at the option of holding virtual proceedings in the future.

Since there is no requirement of maintaining the confidentiality of the proceedings, unlike Parliamentary Standing Committees, the option of holding virtual proceedings is considered.

Directions have been given to Secretaries General of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha by Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday to explore these options during a meeting they had with senior officials of Parliament, sources said.

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Meanwhile, the meeting of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs scheduled on June 3 to discuss the handling of COVID-19 lockdown by the Ministry of Home Affairs has been postponed as several MPs expressed inability to attend the meeting due to travel constraints on account of quarantine in different states.

Panel chairman Anand Sharma requested Naidu to allow video conferencing but was disallowed after Naidu and Birla held discussions and opined that they were not empowered to suspend the Rules regarding confidentiality of committee meetings. They have decided to refer this matter to the Rules Committees of both the Houses.

Sources said both Naidu and Birla held a detailed discussion on holding the Monsoon Session against the backdrop of COVID-19 induced social distancing norms. They asked the Secretaries General to examine the feasibility of using the Central Hall for Parliamentary proceedings.

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The top officials have been asked to consider holding the Lok Sabha proceedings in the Central Hall and shifting the working of Rajya Sabha to the Lok Sabha hall. They have also been asked to check the feasibility of holding the sittings of the Houses on alternate days. Earlier, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva had suggested the same in a letter to Naidu.

With several countries conducting Parliament sessions through virtual mode, Naidu and Birla also asked the officials to look into the possibility of holding virtual sessions as a long-term option to tide over situations when regular meetings are not possible. Since there is no requirement of maintaining a confidentiality of the proceedings of both the Houses, which are open to general public besides being telecast live, sources said, virtual Parliament is an option to be explored.

The meeting also discussed the demand for holding virtual meetings of Parliamentary committees. The Secretaries General, who were earlier asked to prepare a road map, briefed the meeting about the need for providing a safe technological platform, complying with the rules of confidentiality, and the difficulties in ensuring the same in case of virtual meetings and the infrastructure upgrade to be undertaken.

Both the Chairman and the Speaker took cognizance of the long-existing rules regarding confidentiality of the Committees and the implications of holding virtual meetings and opined that it would be necessary to refer the issue of virtual meetings to the Rules Committees of both the Houses.

With some MPs opining that the presiding officers could suspend rules, the Secretariat officials told the meeting that such suspension requires a motion to be carried in the House and Presiding Officers cannot supersede Rules by issuing directions.