Maharashtra may follow Canada to hold online monsoon session in June

The monsoon session of the Maharashtra State Legislature is expected to begin from June 22 as Mumbai falls in the red zone in the coronavirus pandemic. However, the deliberations will take place online considering constraints on travelling of legislators and their gathering in the lower and upper house.

The secretariat of the Legislature and the Department of Legislative Affairs want to follow the Canada Parliament which had gone virtual through the pandemic, assembling MPs across six time zones. Every Tuesday and Thursday over the past month 338 Canadian MPs logged into Zoom from home to question ministers in lieu of holding a daily in-person question period.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has yet to take a final decision though the Legislative Assembly Speaker Nana Patole has mooted convening the monsoon session with online/video deliberations.

The business advisory committee, which was to meet last week, has been deferred to discuss the time schedule for the monsoon session. However, MVA sources indicated that it may start from June 22 and will be for three to four weeks depending on the coronavirus pandemic.

Officer at the Maharashtra State Legislature told FPJ ‘’It is at a preliminary level. The Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council and the Assembly of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly can take decision at their level for holding online monsoon session. The final decision is possible at the Business Advisory Committee comprising members from the ruling and opposition parties.’’ He informed that important debates, question and answer session can be possible online.