The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on January 31 with the address of the president to both the Houses, and conclude on April 8, sources said on Friday citing the recommendation of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
The first part of the session would conclude on February 11. After a month-long recess, part two of the session would begin from March 14 and conclude on April 8, the sources said. The recess allows department-related parliamentary committees to examine budgetary allocations made to their respective ministries.
During part one of the session, campaigning for phase one of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections would be in full swing for which votes will be cast on February 10. When the two Houses meet after recess on March 14, the results of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur would be out. The counting is on March 10 for all the five states.
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, it would be mandatory for MPs as well as those entering the Parliament complex to have a negative RT-PCR report and a fully vaccinated certificate, parliamentary sources said. A decision on whether the two Houses should meet simultaneously or in separate shifts to ensure that not many people are present in the complex to ensure distancing norms is yet to be taken, the sources said.
The Monsoon session of 2020 was the first full session held under Covid protocol with the Rajya Sabha meeting in the first half of the day and the Lok Sabha during the second half. The same was followed for the first part of the Budget Session during 2021.
For the second part of Budget Session and Monsoon and winter sessions last year, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha reverted to normal timings, but with members sitting in the chambers and galleries of respective Houses to ensure distancing.
With inputs from PTI.
