Budget session 2022: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha to convene in shifts to ensure COVID protocol followed
The changes, notified in light of a fresh surge in Covid cases, will kick in soon after the President delivers a joint address to both Houses on January 31.
FollowIn order to enforce Covid distancing standards, the Budget Session of the Parliament in both Houses will function in two different shifts in a day. The two Houses of Parliament will meet at separate times of the day for five hours each — Rajya Sabha in the first half and Lok Sabha in the second half — to ensure Covid distancing norms during the Budget Session beginning January 31.
The changes, notified in light of a fresh surge in Covid cases, will kick in soon after the President delivers a joint address to both Houses on January 31. On February 1, Lok Sabha will meet at 11 am for the presentation of the Union Budget. From February 2 to 11, the first half of the Budget session, the Rajya Sabha will operate during the morning hours, likely from 9 am to 2 pm, while Lower House will sit from 4 pm to 9 pm.
According to a senior official, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla spoke to each other and decided to implement a plan that was used during sessions held in 2020 and 2021.
“For the Budget session, RS to meet first and LS later in the day, as was the case for 252nd session in 2020 and first half of budget session in 2021,” said a senior Rajya Sabha official aware of the matter, asking not to be named.
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A final decision on scheduling has yet to be made because Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has tested Covid positive and is under quarantine in Hyderabad.
The protocols will be similar to the ones followed during the Monsoon Session of Parliament last year. Held in September 2020, the monsoon session was the first time parliamentary proceedings were held under strict Covid-19 protocol.
The Rajya Sabha met in the first half of the day and the Lok Sabha during the second half. Members were seated in both the chambers to ensure social distancing. Similarly, this time around, the Upper House will convene in the morning and the Lok Sabha in the afternoon, a bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Monday.
The second session will run from March 14 to April 8. However, the schedules of the sittings for Part II of the session are not yet known.
The Union Budget will be presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha at 11am on February 1. The Budget session is perhaps the most crucial sitting of Parliament, and also its longest.
