Govt will fulfill its duty of calling Monsoon Session of Parliament: Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal

New Delhi [India], July 12 (ANI): Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday said "it is the constitutional duty of the Centre to call the Parliament Session within six months and the government will surely fulfil its responsibility."
The statement from the Union Minister came after rumours were mongering that this year the Monsoon session would not be held due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Meghwal further said that a meeting was also held between the Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu pertaining to the guidelines to be followed during the Parliament Session in a bid to contain the spread of the lethal infection.
"As many as eight new rules have been made and are being issued by the Parliament. These rules include mandatory wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing and sanitizing hands," he added.
"Preparation are underway for the conduction of the Parliament session and I believe that it will be held soon," the Union Minister said in his concluding remark.
With Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi confirming that the monsoon session of Parliament will be held, talks are underway over various options to conduct the proceedings.
Sources in Parliament told ANI that the monsoon session might begin from either the second or the third week of August.
The biggest challenge in front of the government is to decide how the proceedings of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will be conducted in view of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Although the final decision over the functioning of both the Houses will be taken only after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), the biggest issue is over the seating arrangements of the members, with social distancing measures being followed.
For seating the MPs, the halls of both the Houses apart from Central Hall and GMC Balayogi hall are also being considered.
The MPs are also being asked to give their opinions on the available options and suggest ideas of their own through the Secretariats of both the lower and the upper House. (ANI)