New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu and his staff on Wednesday held a rehearsal ahead of the Monsoon Session with many first-time measures amid restrictions in place to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The session begins from September 14 and ends on October 1.
Naidu held the rehearsal in the Rajya Sabha chamber for the two hundred and fifty second Monsoon Session of the House and also administered the oath to the YSR Congress party leader Parimal Nathwani.
Nathwani was re-elected for a third-term as a member of the Rajya Sabha after he secured victory in the biennial election from Andhra Pradesh. Nathwani was elected to the Rajya Sabha in May 2008 for his first term and in April 2014 for his second term.
Rajya Sabha Secretary-General Desh Deepak Verma and other senior officers of the Upper House Secretariat were also present during the occasion.
With the Monsoon session of Parliament set to be convened from Monday on a fully physical model, the Rajya Sabha will have additional installations such as large display screens, audio consoles in the galleries, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, special cables connecting the two Houses for transmission of audio-visual signal inside the chamber and in the galleries.
The Rajya Sabha will be convening along with the Lok Sabha for Monsoon Session from September 14.
While the Lok Sabha will sit from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., except on day one from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Rajya Sabha will hold its session at a different time.
The two Houses will have staggered sitting because of Covid-19 safety guidelines. Both the Houses of the Parliament will have 18 consecutive sittings each with no weekend break or holiday in the middle. Both the Houses will convene every day for four hours each.