8,700 Covid tests conducted during parliament session, says Speaker Om Birla
"Before beginning of Monsoon Session, the MPs were briefed about Covid-19 precautionary measures by AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria on September 13 and September 14," Speaker Om Birla informed.
New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today said that the Lower House of Parliament witnessed 68.65% average attendance of members during the monsoon session, which had 10 sittings.
He also informed that a total of 8,700 Covid-19 tests were conducted during the Monsoon session in Parliament, which began on September 14 and ended on September 23.
“As it was an extraordinary session due to Covid-19, regular Covid tests were being done in the parliament,” he added.
He said the debate on Covid-19 lasted for 5 hours 8 minutes, with 74 MPs participating in the discussion. Before the beginning of Monsoon Session, the members were briefed about precautionary measures by AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria on September 13 and September 14.
He also informed that it was for the first time in the history of Parliament that members of both houses sat in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha including galleries to maintain social distancing.
“India’s democracy is strong and people have faith in it. Since 1952, voters’ percentage has increased as they exhibited faith in democracy. Many countries held their Parliament virtually. The kind of support we received from all political parties and government, we were able to finish more work compared to the time we had. We saw a good percentage of MPs present in Parliament,” added the Speaker.
“On the first day of the session, 369 MPs attended the Lok Sabha. The maximum number of MPs were present on September 22 when 383 MPs attended the house,” he told the press.