Budget session: Parliament to resume normal sittings from Monday at 11 am

New Delhi, Mar 12: The second part of the Budget session will begin from Monday as the the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha are set to resume their normal sittings which will take place with most of the Covid-19 restrictions in place.

The members will have to follow the social distancing norms in the seating arrangements by utilising both the chambers and visitors' galleries. Rajya Sabha, which has a total strength presently of 237 members with eight vacancies out of a total of 245 MPs, will have 139 (+3) MPs sitting in the chamber while 98 others will be accommodated in the gallery at a given time.

Whereas Lok Sabha, which has a total accommodation of 538 members, out of which 282, including the Prime Minister, can sit in the chamber while the rest 258 can sit in the galleries at a given time. In addition, the restricted access for the media will also continue as earlier with limited seating capacity in the press gallery. Entry of visitors to witness the proceedings of the two Houses will remain suspended, ANI reported.

Only sitting members of the two Houses of Parliament can visit the Central Hall which will be out of bounds for the former MPs and visitors, as per the official guidelines. Moreover, limited entry for staff of MPs and ministers will also continue to be followed in line with the protocol seen in the previous sessions which were enforced after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second part of the Budget session conclude on April 8. Agency