The government has held a discussion with the opposition on the issue (Archive)
New Delhi:
The ongoing monsoon session of Lok Sabha will be shortened by several days, the government decided today after consulting with the opposition at the Business Advisory Committee meeting tonight. The Center is concerned for the safety of MPs after three of them, who had attended the session, tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week, days after their mandatory test reports came back negative.
The government had previously held a discussion with the opposition while trying to build a consensus. Many opposition parties were also in favor of closing the session.
The session at Lok Sabha is likely to conclude on Wednesday of next week. Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, is expected to do the same.
Seventeen members of the Lok Sabha and eight of the Rajya Sabha had tested positive for the coronavirus in mandatory tests conducted before the monsoon session of parliament began. Among the infected Lok Sabha MPs, the BJP had the maximum number: 12. The YSR Congress had two MPs, the Shiv Sena, DMK and RLP each had one.
Earlier this week, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel, who tested negative before the session, tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Friday, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe tested positive for the virus. He had addressed the House before.
“Last Friday, I was tested and tested negative, so I attended parliament. But last night, I had a headache and mild fever, I was tested and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Sahasrabuddhe tweeted.
Authorities in parliament had taken strict measures to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus among parliamentarians, but the government did not want to take any risks, the sources say.
Before the end of the session, the government wants to pass 11 ordinances in parliament. So far, the Lok Sabha has approved only three bills related to the agricultural sector. Both Houses passed an ordinance to cut the salaries of members of parliament by 30 percent to save funds for the country’s fight against the pandemic.
Both Houses have been meeting in two separate shifts so that there is enough space to accommodate the deputies while maintaining social distancing. Under the revised guidelines, reporters and parliamentary staff entering the premises are now required to undergo rapid antigen testing on a daily basis.
Parliamentarians are also regularly tested for RT-PCR on a voluntary basis. Your staff is required to take the test every 72 hours.
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