MPs Appeal for Virtual Parliamentary Meetings, Centre Stonewalls Requests

“If the prime minister can have a meeting with Google CEO via video conference then why not a parliamentary panel meeting?” Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said.

New Delhi: Unable to effectively conduct business, members of a parliamentary committee have once again suggested that the committee’s meetings be held via video conferencing to allow all members to attend it, The Hindu reported.

The standing committee of parliament on information and technology had held an in-person meeting in parliament on Tuesday. However, only eight of the 30 members of the committee were able to attend it. The panel was supposed to discuss privacy and security concerns around the Aarogya Setu application.

Karti Chidambaram, Congress MP from Tamil Nadu, said that he could not attend the meeting as he was unable to travel to Delhi and suggested that future meetings be held via video conferencing. “We have been repeatedly appealing that these meetings should be held via video conference. If the prime minister can have a meeting with the Google CEO via video conference then why not a parliamentary panel meeting? The least that Google can do is probably provide us with a secure facility for holding our meeting,” he told The Hindu.

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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is the chairperson of the committee, had earlier expressed his intention to convene the meeting via video conference. However, the suggestion was rejected by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla who said that virtual meetings could not be allowed until rules for the same were approved by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Previously, another Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is the chairperson of the standing committee on science and technology, had also asked that meetings be held virtually. The government has so far not allowed these meetings due to concerns over ‘confidentiality’, The Hindu reported.

As of now, the committees can meet in person whilst following physical distancing norms. At one time, only two witnesses can appear before the committee. Hand sanitisers, masks, gloves, etc. are made available to the members, witnesses and staff of parliament for conducting these meetings.