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No winter session this year, says Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi
New Delhi: In response to
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary's demand, Parliamentary affairs
minister Pralhad Joshi has released his letter stating that the government has
decided to not conduct the winter session of Parliament. Keeping in mind the
spurt in the number of COVID cases, particularly in Delhi, Joshi said that the
government is eager to conduct the session at the earliest. Adding that the
Budget Session 2021 might also take place in January 2021, Joshi noted with
concern that restrictions regarding COVID should be taken carefully now that it
is winter.
"Winter months are very crucial for managing the pandemic because of the recent spurt in cases during this period, particularly in Delhi. At present, we are in the middle of December and a COVID vaccine is expected very soon," Joshi said in his letter.
The government's response came after Congress leader Chaudhary addressed a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on December 3, asking for a short winter session. The leader expressed necessity and willingness to discuss currently crucial issues including farmers' agitation, status of COVID-19 vaccine preparation, Chinese intrusion at borders, economic slowdown and unemployment scenario. After conducting informal sessions with the floor leaders, Joshi said that it was finally agreed to not open the Parliament for winter session this year.
Notably, the monsoon session this year was held in September even when COVID cases were much higher than the current numbers. The winter session, which usually runs from November to December, could have been quickly held given that the COVID cases in Delhi have reached the lowest in almost three-and-a-half months. However, the decision to withhold the winter session has been backlashed by several Congress leaders all across social media and has been directly linked with the government's reluctance to repeal the three farm laws.