Lok Sabha SpeakerOm Birla, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu Meet To Plan Parliament Sessions Amid COVID-19

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday (1 June) met and discussed the preparations to hold the Monsoon Session of the Parliament under the COVID-19 induced challenges, reports The Indian Express.

The two are said to have explored the possibility of holding 'virtual Parliament' as an option in the long run given the need to maintain social distancing. Both Birla and Naidu are said to have endorsed the need to adopt technology to enable the Parliament's functioning in these times.

The two however opined that the issue of holding virtual meetings of the Parliamentary committees would have to be referred to the Rules Committees of the two houses in the view of the confidentiality aspects involved in the deliberations.

Meanwhile, the two are also said to be exploring the option to hold the meeting of Lok Sabha in the Central Hall with Rajya Sabha shifting to the Lok Sabha's chamber given the latter has fewer members. The option to hold sittings of both the houses in the Central Hall itself on alternate days is also being explored.