The monsoon session of the Parliament will starts on September 14.
With 200 out of 785 Members of Parliament above 65 years of age, and at least seven Union Ministers and two dozen lawmakers recovering from COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow over the much-awaited monsoon session of the Parliament.
As the Parliament reconvenes on September 14 with Covid safety measures, including compulsory face mask and social distancing in place, many senior lawmakers have expressed their concern about the huge gathering at a single place for 17 days. They have said that there could be as many as 2,000 people present in the complex at any given time.
It is officially learnt that as many as 97 out of 240 MPs of the Rajya Sabha are above the age of 65, and 20 above the age of 80 years including Dr Manmohan Singh, 87 and AK Antony, 82.
The data uploaded on the official website of the Rajya Sabha on September 8 says the average age of the MPs is 63.3 years. In Lok Sabha, 130 MPs are above 65 years including 30 above 75 years; one MP is 90 years old. Interestingly, the average age of the citizens as per the 2011 census is 27.8 years.
The situation is considered serious as seven Union Ministers and two dozen MPs of both houses have been infected by the coronavirus till now. One Lok Sabha MP has even died of Covid, while others have lost their near and dear ones, and are scared to travel.
This, when all those entering the Parliament will have to undergo Covid test three days before entering the premises and must get a negative certificate.
Many feel that managing more than 2,000 entrants, including security personnel, officials, journalists and others for two weeks will be a Herculean task.
A Minister in the Modi government said that the air-conditioning system in Parliament house complex is outdated and dangerous to use during the pandemic as it doesn't have an automatic ventilating system.