MPs across party lines demand end to Parliament session over Covid-19

There is growing demand from members cutting across party lines that the ongoing Parliament session be prorogued earlier than the scheduled April 3. AIADMK MP S R Balasubramaniam, for instance, said in the Rajya Sabha that the ongoing Budget session of Parliament could be curtailed. However, Finance Bill needs to be passed, even as appropriation bill was cleared on Monday. For the Finance Bill, the two Houses would need to sit for at least another week. Meanwhile, authorities have already stopped issuing passes for people interested in witnessing proceedings of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Only MPs, staff and journalists are allowed to enter the Parliament from Monday. Thermal screening of all visitors to the complex too started on the day.

What's cooking?

Amid the ongoing political crisis in Madhya Pradesh, where the fate of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government remains uncertain — after 22 Congress MLAs turned hostile — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Narayan Tripathi once again visited the Chief Minister. When asked whether he was with the BJP or the Congress, Tripathi said, "I am with development only." Tripathi said he met the CM to discuss issues related to the development of his constituency. When asked about the "timing" of the visit, Tripathi said, "The Nath government is still in power and that’s why I went to discuss things. If it falls, I will decide my next move." Tripathi, along with another party MLA Sharad Kol — both former Congressmen — voted for the Congress' Advocate Protection Act Bill, a long-time demand of the lawyers of the state, last year.

Mid-day meal at home

Ever wondered, what happens to the mid-day meal scheme when schools are shut? Kerala is trying to set an example. The state government has closed all schools till class VII as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced that food will be made available to all the anganwadi children at their homes. Depending on the distance and the number of students attending the anganwadi centres, either raw food materials or cooked food would be distributed. So for the next 17 days, every child will receive 255 gm of pulses, 120 gm of wheat, 170 gm peanuts, 55 gm oil and 180 gm jaggery (an ingredient for payasam, a dessert). Usually the children are served payasam twice a week. Around 375,000 children under 33,115 anganwadi centres in the state are under the mid-day meal scheme.