Government unwilling to curtail Parliamentary sessions amid Coronavirus outbreak

In the wake of the Coronavirus scare that could possibly escalate further, MPs from several political parties have suggested curtailment of the ongoing Parliament session, however, senior leaders of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) said that there is no plan for rescheduling the session till now.

"I believe that the session will end at its scheduled time," a senior BJP leader stated who is involved in planning the proceedings of the House. Another senior BJP leader said, "It would send a wrong message if we adjourn the session sine die. We are geared up to fight the coronavirus scare and do not think that there would be curtailing the session in the wake of the virus scare." While another senior leader in the BJP in assurance said that adequate precautions are being taken to ensure that coronavirus doesn't spread and that there is no question of a curtailed session.

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On the other hand, the opposition is of the opinion that Parliament sessions should be adjourned. Several MPs of Congress and other opposition parties had similar sentiments on the issue of Coronavirus. The MPs also expressed concerned about being unaware about which all places their fellow MPs have travelled. AIADMK's SR Balasubramanian, while sharing his thoughts on coronavirus in Rajya Sabha, suggested that Parliament should be adjourned earlier than its scheduled date.

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Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien has posted a picture on Instagram, taken at the entrance of the Rajya Sabha, the picture shows a hand sanitiser and the register book (at Rajya Sabha entrance), asking "Is it time to cut short the Budget session?"

The Budget Session of Parliament is scheduled to be held between January 31, 2020, and April 3, 2020. The session had a recess from February 12 to March 1, 2020.

India has recorded two deaths so far, while the number of Coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 110 on Sunday including 17 foreign nationals. A 76-year-old from Karnataka and a 68-year-old woman in Delhi who had tested positive for coronavirus died due to it.

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Maharashtra has recorded the maximum number of cases with 33 tested positive of the deadly virus, followed by Kerala reporting 22 cases. In a good news amid the scare of the deadly virus, the total number of patients treated of Coronavirus and discharged from hospital has also risen to 13, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The World Health Organization has declared Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) as global pandemic advising against the mass congregation as countries such as China, Italy, Iran and South Korea among others have suffered the most due to the deadly virus leading to national lockdown in some of the countries. The virus has affected over 1,20,000 across the world with a death toll of over 5,500.

(With ANI inputs)

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