The monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature will begin on August 3 as it will not be possible to convene on June 22 amidst rising coronavirus cases in Mumbai. The decision was announced by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after the Business Advisory Committee of the state assembly and state council held meetings at the Vidhan Bhavan.
If the situation will be under control, then in that event the state government may hold the monsoon session for 15 days from August 3. After both the houses during the budget session were adjourned ahead of schedule on March 14, it was announced that the monsoon session would commence from June 22. But because of the present COVID-19 crisis, both Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said it won't be possible to start the monsoon session from June 22 and therefore it was unanimously decided to begin on August 3.
However, Thackeray and Pawar said that the Legislature may meet for a day even before August 3 to pass the supplementary demands. Pawar informed that the government and the Legislature Secretariat will also make arrangements so that legislators can participate in the proceedings through video conferencing.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP has supported the decision to defer the monsoon session till August 3. He informed that the opposition is even ready for a day-long session to pass the supplementary demands though the presence of legislators should not be made mandatory due to the present coronavirus crisis.
As reported by FPJ, a fortnight ago Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Nana Patole had said that the monsoon session proceedings can take place online on the lines of Canada where parliament is functioning online and through video conference. He had discussed the issue with the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
