Budget Session Part I: Different timings for LS, RS in view of Covid

New Delhi, Jan 24: Covid-19 protocol will be implemented again in the forthcoming Budget Session of the Parliament and both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will beginat separate times of a day to ensure Covid distancing norms.

While Rajya Sabha proceedings will begin from 9 am, Lok Sabha session commences at 4 pm. The new protocol will come into effect from February. During sittings of the Lower House of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chambers and their galleries will be used for sitting of members in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Lok Sabha bulletin said.

Lok Sabha will meet at 11 am on February 1 for the presentation of the Union Budget and it will meet from 4 pm to 9 pm from February 2 to February 11, when the first part of the session concludes. During sittings of the Lower House of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chambers and their galleries will be used for sitting of members in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bulletin said.

While the exact timings of Rajya Sabha are yet to be formally notified, it could meet from 9 am to 2 pm. On January 31, the President would address both Houses of Parliament. The second part of the session will be from March 14 to April 8. But the timings of sittings are not yet clear for the Part II of the session.

The Monsoon Session of 2020 was the first full session held under Covid protocol with Rajya Sabha meeting in the first half of the day and Lok Sabha in the second half. The same process was followed for the first part of the Budget Session in 2021. For the second part of Budget Session and Monsoon and Winter sessions last year, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha went back to normal timings, but with members sitting in the chambers and galleries of respective Houses to ensure distancing. PTI