File photo of the House of Parliament.
Parliament met for the first time in six months on September 14 and was due to run until October 1, but two officials said its duration could be shortened by a week.
- CNN-News18 New Delhi
- Last update: September 19, 2020 5:17 PM IST
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The monsoon session of parliament that began this week is likely to be interrupted after 30 lawmakers tested positive for coronavirus, sources told CNN-News18. The president of Lok Sabha called an urgent meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) at 5 pm to decide on the matter.
Parliament met for the first time in six months on September 14 and was due to run until October 1, but sources said its duration could be shortened by a week.
While the discussion on the session reduction takes place at various levels within the government and is said to have been demanded even by some opposition MPs, sources said the government is waiting to see the approval of the controversial draft bills. agricultural reform law in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.
“If the opposition wants and demands, we can think about reducing,” a government source told CNN-News18.
Despite the stricter protocols in place, two Union ministers, Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Singh Patel, tested positive while attending Parliament. Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe also tested positive the day after his attendance at Parliament, where he had even participated in a discussion.
More than 250 Secretariat employees and various members of the media staff who came to cover the session also tested positive. The government has even ordered daily tests for journalists entering Parliament to cover Saturday’s session.
A minister with knowledge of the events told CNN-News18: “It was a very difficult decision to hold a session in the middle of a pandemic, but we are bound by a constitutional duty. It is important for us to pass the ordinances, otherwise it will expire. We will get a call after Sunday to see what can be done. “
India, which recorded 93,337 new infections in the past 24 hours, has recorded the highest number of cases in a single day in the world since the beginning of August. India is the second most affected country after the United States, with a total registered cases of 5.3 million. The virus killed 1,247 people in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 85,619, government data showed Saturday.
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