Discussions on to shorten the monsoon session, govt claims opposition wants it curtailed: Sources

New Delhi [India], September 19 (ANI): With the hope to get most of the legislative business out of the way in a week's time, the government is mulling to shorten the duration of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, say sources in Parliament.
Sources told ANI that due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and continued health restrictions in force, the government is contemplating to shorten the length of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
A senior MP claimed that even if all the Ordinances are cleared along with few bills, decision to curtail the session can be taken.
The Parliament session which began on September 14 is scheduled to end on October 1.
However, with routine tests of MPs, staffers and workers in the Parliament coming positive, the fear of the spread is palpable among the top leadership as well.
The ongoing session of Parliament is the first one held amid the pandemic. The government brought in several important legislations including The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment ) Bill 2020, The Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2020-21 and The Demands for Excess Grants for 2016-17, The Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2020 and
The Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2020, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act and The Farmers (empowerment and protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 to name a few.
To keep monitoring the temperature and whether people are wearing masks, a few cameras have been installed on strategic locations. Sanitiser dispensers too have been put in place.
Recently both Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel tested positive for COVID-19. Both had attended the session after being tested negative a few days back.
The issue of curtailing the ongoing session is also likely to be discussed at a meeting of Business Advisory Committee to be held today, sources stated. (ANI)