GUWAHATI, March 20 - With the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic showing no signs of abating, the daily business of the Assam Legislative Assembly during the remaining half of the ongoing Budget Session will be curtailed. Arrangements will also be made for screening of all people who enter the Assembly premises and only a limited number of officials and media-persons will be allowed in, while general visitors, including students, will not be allowed entry.
This was decided during an all-party meeting convened today by Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami. The Budget Session started on March 2 and continued till March 12 before going for recess. The Department-Related Standing Committee meetings are going on during the recess.
The House will reassemble on March 24 for the second half of the Budget Session.
�It was decided to curtail the normal business of the House. The Question Hour will take place daily and Cut Motion and other Budget-related matters will be taken up. However, there will be no Zero Hour of Special Mention and other such devices. In addition, the Speaker�s Initiative, which was scheduled for March 28, has been deferred to the next session,� said Wazed Ali Choudhury, chief whip of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).
The time allotted for discussion on Cut Motion and the number of speakers will be reduced.
�General visitors will not be allowed into the Assembly premises. There will be restrictions on the number of officers allowed inside the premises. Only the heads of departments will be allowed into the Officers� Gallery. Besides, only one journalist from each media house will be allowed into the Reporters� Gallery,� said AIUDF legislator Hafiz Rafiqul Islam.
Everybody will be screened at the gate and medical teams will be deployed.
The Budget Session will conclude on March 30.
