IMAGE: Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the Parliament House in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI PhotoThere will also be no breaks during the session, which will be held from September 14 to October 1, and both Houses will function on Saturdays and Sundays as well, they said.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the session will be held in two shifts -- 9 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 7 pm.

Except for the first day, the Rajya Sabha will sit in the morning shift and the Lok Sabha will sit in the evening, according to the notifications.

"There will be no Question Hour during the Session. In view of the request of the Government owing to prevailing extraordinary situation due to COVID-19, the Speaker has directed that no day be fixed for transaction of Private Members' Business during the Session," the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notification.

A similar notification has also been issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

The Trinamool Congress hit out at the government over the suspension of Question Hour in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, alleging that it was to deny opposition members an opportunity to ask questions on the economy and the coronavirus pandemic.

"MPs required to submit questions for Question Hour in Parliament 15 days in advance. Session starts September 14. So Question Hour cancelled? Opposition MPs lose right to question government. A first since 1950? Parliament overall working hours remain same so why cancel Question Hour? Pandemic excuse to murder democracy," tweeted TMC MP Derek O'Brien.

He also pointed out that question hours are significant because issues raised during this time is answered by the minister concerned which is not the case in Zero Hour.

O'Brien also said that during the question hour, questions are asked also from the Treasury Benches and by the move to suspend it, the government was also "denying their own MPs to raise their queries".

"This means that we cannot ask any questions on the state of the economy or the pandemic," he said.

"During the 33rd (1961), 93rd (1975), 98th (1976) 99th (1977) sessions there was no Question Hour as these sessions were summoned for SPECIAL PURPOSES: Orissa, Proclamation of Emergency, 44th Amdmt, President's Rule TN/Nagaland. The upcoming Monsoon Session is a REGULAR SESSION (sic)," the TMC said in another tweet.

Last week, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Speaker Om Birla urging him not to curtail the Question Hour and the Zero Hour.

Chowdhury had said it will prevent lawmakers from raising issues of national importance.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the government has reached out to the Opposition, sharing its compulsions to not hold the Question Hour in wake of the pandemic.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called up several opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chowdhury, Biju Janata Dal's Pinaki Misra and O'Brien.