Govt to present Union budget on Feb 1

The budget session of parliament will be conducted in two parts, with the first phase ending on February 15 and the second part starting on March 8 and  ending on April 8, reports said.

The government had earlier cancelled the winter session of parliament in wake of the rising coronavirus cases in the country. The decision was taken as all political parties were in favour of scrapping the winter session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had said.

"I have informally contacted floor leaders of various political parties and they have expressed their concerns about the ongoing pandemic and opined of doing away with Winter Session. The government is willing to have the next session of Parliament at the earliest. It would be appropriate to have the Budget Session, 2021 in January, keeping in mind the unprecedented circumstances created by Covid-19 pandemic (sic)," the letter read.

However, the Congress had alleged that it was not consulted before cancelling the winter session and it was cancelled to avoid questions on the ongoing farmers' protest.

The Centre said the decision to hold the budget session was taken based on the  Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs or CCPA.

In September last, 17 members of the Lok Sabha and eight from the Rajya Sabha had tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the centre to call off the monsoon session. Despite the strict anti-coronavirus measures, several MPs had contracted the virus in parliament.