Parliament to return to simultaneous sitting for second leg of Budget Session

With Covid-19 cases easing, Parliament will return to normal functioning for the second leg of Budget Session starting March 14 with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha conducting proceedings simultaneously.

Parliament had adopted the shift system during the first phase of Budget Session owing to the third wave of Covid-19, with Rajya Sabha conducting proceedings during the morning hours and Lok Sabha during evening hours.

The decision to return to simultaneous sitting was taken at a meeting of Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday. Both the Houses will work from 11 AM.

However, sources said, both the Houses will use the chambers and galleries of respective Houses as was the case earlier.

The 2020 Budget Session was the first to be curtailed by 8 sittings due to the outbreak of Covid-19. 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 the second half.

This was followed for the first part of the Budget Session 2021 while Parliament returned to normal sitting hours from the second leg of Budget Session last year.

In January this year ahead of the first leg of the Budget Session, a large number of Parliament House officials had tested positive.

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