Separated by plastic shields installed in front of their benches, members of Lok Sabha attended the first day of the Monsoon session being held amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While nearly 200 members were present in the Lok Sabha chamber, a little over 30 were seated in the visitors' gallery located above the main chamber.
A giant TV screen in the Lok Sabha chamber showed very few Lok Sabha members were occupying seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber, the other venue where LS MPs have been accommodated keeping in mind physical distancing norms.
Benches which usually accommodate six members had a numbered sitting plan for only three.
Glass-like plastic shields of varied sizes were installed in front of benches to protect members from coronavirus.
The shield also covered part of the members' sides.
The front seats of the Treasury benches on the right of the Speaker's podium were occupied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on a seat marked as number one, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on seat number 2 and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on seat number 3.
The front seats of the Opposition benches were occupied by T R Baalu of the DMK and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress.
National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was also present and was seated in the second row of opposition benches.
As soon as the prime minister entered the House, he was greeted with claps and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogan.
Modi greeted members, including those from the Opposition, with folded hands.
All members were wearing masks. Some were also seen wearing face shields, including Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asked members to remain seated while speaking in the House and follow social distancing norms in view of the 'extraordinary situation' amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 18-day Monsoon Session of Parliament began on Monday during which Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will sit in shifts without any break.
While on the first day of the session on Monday, Lok Sabha is sitting in the morning from 9 am to 1 pm, Rajya Sabha is sitting in the evening starting at 3 pm.
On the rest of the days, Rajya Sabha will sit for four hours in the morning and Lok Sabha in the evening.
It is for the first time in the history that both the Houses are being utilised for the convenience and safety of the members, Birla said, adding even some members have been allotted seats in visitors' gallery.
Birla said that the seats have been allotted to members keeping in mind the social distancing norms and sought their cooperation for smooth functioning of the House.
The Speaker said it has been decided that members would remain seated even while speaking.
"It would be difficult for you all, but because of COVID-19 and on the advice of experts, I have decided that I will allow members to remain seated while speaking in the House. I know members will have problem, but I have no other option," Birla said.
He said that the House has tried to bring in digitisation and and has drafted an app.
"Due to various safety protocols, I know there would be problems, but it is necessary to remain safe," Birla said.
He said that although the session aims aims at bringing together the members of various parties, this time the social distancing has to be maintained in view of the pandemic.
The Speaker further said that he is aware of the problems being faced due to seating arrangements but asked members to follow their allotted seat numbers to ensure distancing.
"This time the session is being held under extraordinary situation and we have made arrangements for safety of members... We have allotted seats to members based on the total strength of their party in the House. I would request members and ministers to follow the seating arrangements which has been made keeping in mind the social distancing requirements," Birla added.
He said with the Centre and state governments working together, the country would be able to defeat corona.
Earlier, the House was adjourned for an hour after paying tributes to former president Pranab Mukherjee, a sitting MP and 13 former members who died in the recent past.
As soon as the House assembled for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, Birla paid glowing tributes to the departed leaders and security personnel who have laid down their lives while protecting the nation since March.
Birla also remembered 'Corona warriors' like doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police personnel and voluntary workers who died while fighting the pandemic.
Apart from Mukherjee, the House paid tributes to sitting MP from Tamil Nadu H Vasanthakumar, eminent vocalist Pandit Jasraj, former MPs Gurdas Singh Badal, Nepal Singh, Ajit Jogi, P Namgyal, Paras Nath Yadav, Madhav Rao Patil, Haribhau Madhav Jawale, Saroj Dubey, Lalji Tandon, Kamal Rani, Chetan Chauhan, Surendra Prakash Goel and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.
The speaker then adjourned the House for an hour, after about 20 minutes of business.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader T R Baalu, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and Nationalist Congress Party leader Supriya Sule were among those who were present in the House.
MPs attending the House had to undergo a COVID test and only those with a negative report were allowed to sit in the House.
The security and secretarial staff in Parliament also had to take coronavirus tests before their entry.
