As Parliament gears up to hold the Budget Session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla held a press conference on Tuesday and elaborated on the steps taken by the secretariat in the time of Covid-19.
He said that RT-PCR tests will be mandatory for all MPs coming to the House. House workers and family members have also been advised to go for the test. Testing centres would be set up near members’ homes in Delhi and the Speaker has also requested other state authorities to make it convenient for Lok Sabha members to go for the tests in their respective states.
Speaker Om Birla also said that it is the first time that the national budget will come digitally for the secret part of taxation as it would not be practical to keep 700 people locked in a hall during the pandemic.
Responding to a question on the farmers’ agitation, he said that the Parliament has passed all three farm bills and they have been signed by the President and therefore the House has nothing to do with it.
Apart from this, the Speaker also announced doing away with all kinds of subsidies which were being offered on food items. These subsidies had always attracted bad press and this move is being seen in this light. Om Birla announced that though the parliament canteens will be functional during the Budget Session, all subsidies that were offered on the food items will be removed. ITDC has been appointed to manage the food supply but now the food in the parliament canteens will be three times more expensive than it used to be.
The Budget Session will be held in two parts. The first part of the session will have twelve sittings of the house. Seating arrangements will be made in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha to maintain social distancing.
The timings of both the Houses have been kept according to shifts. Rajya Sabha will function from 9 am to 2 pm and the Lok Sabha from 4 pm to 9 pm. The Speaker added that Question Hour will be included in the proceedings of the House during the Budget Session.