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The Lead: Parliament Session in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic

Last Updated 16 September 2020, 02:13 IST

In this episode of The Lead from DH Radio, get to know what's brewing in the Parliament and listen to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on the government's plan to ensure safety from Covid-19 inside the Parliament.

Excerpts:

Ahmed Shariff: Hi, this is Ahmed Shariff and today we are joined by DH correspondent from Delhi Sagar Kulkarni to know what's happening this Parliament Session. Hi Sagar, welcome to DH Radio

Sagar Kulkarni: Hi.

Ahmed: The Monsoon Session has already begun and we saw the first day being the fiery one, can you tell us what more can we expect?

Sagar: See, the parliament session is taking place after six months and it's just in the nick of time to meet the constitutional obligation that parliament should meet at least once in six months. The high light of this session is a number of bills lined up by the government. 23 bills are there and of these 11 were ordinances that were issued by the government during the inter-session period. The previous session, the Budget session, had to be cut short due to the covid pandemic. There were certain laws that were required to be passed, for example, to cut the salaries of parliamentarians as a token gesture...

Sagar Kulkarni: What are the challenges in convening the monsoon session?

Pralhad Joshi: It has been a challenge not only for India but for the entire world. We are in the midst of an unprecedented situation. The disease itself is highly contagious. Even if one person is infected, it will create a problem. So, we have to ensure testing, asking members to bring certificates of negative tests.

Sagar: What special arrangements have been made?

Joshi: First of all, each House will sit only for four hours. The chambers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will be used for the sittings with members occupying visitors’ galleries as well to ensure physical distancing. We have also used technology to link the chambers of both the Houses electronically so that the presiding officer can have seamless access to members seated in either of the chambers. Entry for the personal staff of MPs and ministers has been restricted. Ministers will be allowed to get along only one officer. Sanitisation of the chambers at regular intervals will also be done...

To know more about the conversation, tune in to the podcast.

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Catch our feature show, The Lead, Monday to Friday at 7 am, and our evening news catch-up show From the Newsroom every day at 6 pm.

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(Published 16 September 2020, 01:20 IST)

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