Budget Session of Parliament likely to conclude before 27 March Assembly polls, says sources

New Delhi: The Budget Session of Parliament is likely to be cut short and may conclude before the first phase of elections on 27 March, sources said even as the two Houses will resume their normal timing of 11 am onwards from Tuesday. While Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made an announcement about resumption of normal timings in the House, a similar announcement was made by the Chair in Rajya Sabha earlier in the day. Birla said Lok Sabha members would also sit in galleries, apparently to maintain distancing norms. Birla made the announcement when the House met at 5 pm after an hour-long adjournment after paying tributes to two sitting and seven former members who died recently. “This is a happy news for all the members. On the request received from many members from various parties, the Chairman (M Venkaiah Naidu) has decided that from tomorrow, Tuesday, 9 March, 2021, the sitting of Rajya Sabha will commence from 11 am up to 6 pm, as per usual timings of the House. “The members will be seated in the Rajya Sabha chamber and the galleries only, with some distancing,” Vandana Chavan, who was presiding over the proceedings of the upper house, said. Several parties had requested that the session, which was originally scheduled to continue till 8 April, be curtailed due to the Assembly elections in four states and one union territory being held between 27 March and 29 April. A final decision on curtailment of the session would also be taken by Birla who met floor leaders of various parties on the matter earlier in the day. Keeping in mind the distancing norms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both Houses were meeting in two shifts since the Monson Session, with Rajya Sabha meeting in the first half of the day and Lok Sabha in the second half. There was no Winter Session of Parliament due to the pandemic. Some Rajya Sabha members were sitting in Lok Sabha chambers to adhere to distancing norms. Similar was the case with Lok Sabha members. Some Lok Sabha members were also seated in the visitors’ gallery above the House chamber. The move to return to normal timings was taken a day before COVID-19 vaccination drive for members of Parliament begins from Tuesday. Floor leaders of various political parties on Monday urged Birla to curtail the Budget Session to allow them focus on the assembly polls in four states and one union territory. At a meeting of Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC), Birla spoke with various floor leaders on a one-on-one basis to take a sense on curtailing the session which began on Monday. Members of the Trinamool Congress and the DMK did not attend the meeting. Sources said the Biju Janata Dal was of the view that Assembly elections keep taking place every few months and the session should not be curtailed on this ground. YSR Congress Party member P V Midhun Reddy said if the current session is curtailed, the next session should be longer. Some members said nearly 145 members have written to the Speaker seeking curtailment of the session. In a letter to the Rajya Sabha chairperson, TMC national spokesperson and RS member Derek O’Brien said due to the polls, MPs of his party would not be able to attend the Parliament session. “… we urge you to consider the adjournment of the ensuing Parliament session, because of the declaration of elections in five states,” he said. “… Due to the ongoing intensive election preparations in the State, the members of Parliament from the All India Trinamool Congress would find it difficult to attend the second part of the Budget Session beginning from 8th March 2021,” he wrote in the letter. TMC MP Sudeep Bandyopadhyay has also written to the Lok Sabha Speaker on the same issue, requesting that Parliament be adjourned due to the polls. While O’Brien’s letter is dated 8 March, Bandyopadhyay had written to the LS Speaker on 6 February. O’Brien, in his letter, mentioned two precedents when Parliament sessions were adjourned due to polls in states. He cited the example of the 222nd session which commenced on 21 February, 2011, and was scheduled to conclude on 21 April, 2011. However, due to state Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the House was adjourned sine die on March 25, 2011, he said. The second instance he provided was of the 214th session which commenced on 17 October, 2008, and was adjourned early on 24 October, 2008, to meet again on 10 December 2008. The session, as per the original schedule, was to continue up to 21 November, 2008. However, due to state assembly elections in some states, the House was adjourned till 10 December, 2008.