Monsoon Session: Parliament to function with limited hours, TMC may skip

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandopadhyay has hinted that the party MPs could give the Monsoon session of Parliament a miss if it is convened in August. The party, he said, will take a final call on attending the session if it is held in September.

The Lok Sabha MP from Kolkata Uttar constituency said that party MPs will also skip parliamentary committee meetings in August.

“Last week, the Lok Sabha speaker had called me regarding the possibility of beginning the session in August. The party has told the speaker that it will not be able to attend the session if it starts this month,” Bandopadhyay said.

“We also won’t be able to attend the meetings of the parliamentary committee this month,” he added.

The Budget session of the Parliament was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on March 23, nearly two weeks before schedule. The Budget session had commenced on January 31 and was scheduled to conclude on April 3.

As per norms, there cannot be a gap of more than six months between two sessions of Parliament. The last one was adjourned on March 23 and therefore the next session should be convened before September 23.

“…by September, you have to hold the next session. We are aware of this norm and would take a call accordingly after discussions with party supremo Mamata Banerjee,” he said.

According to reports, the Monsoon session is likely to start from August end or first week of September. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will follow guidelines to minimise crowding and contact.

This will be the first time Parliament will be in session since the coronavirus induced lockdown forced the Budget session to be curtailed.

Reports say both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will function four hours daily. The Lok Sabha will meet first, followed by the Rajya Sabha.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu have already held discussions over the past days to discuss seating arrangements of the MPs.