The government of India has called an all-party meeting of floor leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on December 4 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the country, according to reports.
The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and it will be held virtually at 10:30 am, according to reports. Apart from the prime minister, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan will also be present during the meeting.
The Parliamentary Affairs Ministry is coordinating the meeting and has reached out to floor leaders of all parties, sources told news agency PTI.
This will be the second all-party meeting called by the government to discuss the COVID-19 situation since the outbreak of the pandemic. The first one was held in April, weeks after PM Modi announced a national lockdown owing to the spread of the disease.
The meeting is being held at a time when it is being contemplated to merge the winter session of parliament with the budget session in wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital.
The meeting also assumes significance as it is being held after Modi’s visit to pharmaceutical companies in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune to review coronavirus vaccine development work there.