The novel coronavirus has made its way into the upper ranks of several governments. With cases hitting records in India and infecting millions, the conditions became more severe after Twenty-five members of the Parliament tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on the first day of the monsoon session, secretariat officials told Hindustan Times on Monday.
Junior railways minister Suresh Angadi, the BJP’s Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde, Parvesh Sahib Singh, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, and Kaushal Kishore were among the 17 Lok Sabha MPs who have contracted the viral disease.
In the upper house, the Congress party’s Deepender Singh Hooda and Naranbhai J Rathwa, the BJP’s Ashok Gasti and Abhay Bhardwaj, the AIADMK’s A Navaneethakrishnan, the AAP’s Sushil Kumar Gupta, the TRS’s V Lakshmikantha Rao, and AITC’s Shanta Chhetri were found to be infected.
Lekhi later tweeted that she is currently in good health. She also requested people who recently come in contact with her to get tested for the coronavirus disease.
“After the routine Parliament test for COVID & genome test, it’s confirmed that I have tested positive for the virus. I am currently in good health & spirits. I request everyone who has been recently in contact with me to get tested. Together We will fight & defeat Corona,” Lekhi tweeted.
After the routine Parliament test for COVID & genome test it’s confirmed that I have tested positive for the virus. I am currently in good health & spirits. I request everyone who has been recently in contact with me to get tested. Together We will fight & defeat Corona🙏🏽
— Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) September 14, 2020
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said it has carried out testing of more than 2,500 samples of members of Parliament and other officials “on a war footing” over the weekend.
The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, considered the most accurate for the diagnosis of the coronavirus disease, would continue till the next week for the members of Parliament, officials said.
As the viral disease continues to pose a threat to the session, many senior MPs, cutting across political lines, have decided against attending the proceedings.
On the first day of the delayed session that was attended by 359 members, nearly 200 were present in the Lok Sabha chamber and a little over 30 were seated in the visitors’ gallery located above the main chamber. Plastic shields were installed in front of the members’ benches in order to ensure distance.
A giant TV screen in the Lok Sabha chamber showed very few members occupying seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber, the other venue where the lower house MPs have been accommodated keeping in mind physical distancing norms.
Benches that usually accommodate six members had a numbered seating plan for only three.
The Parliament session is being held in two shifts — the Rajya Sabha in the morning and the Lok Sabha in the afternoon — with members of both Houses spread across the two chambers and galleries. On the opening day, however, the Lok Sabha was held in the morning shift and the Rajya Sabha in the afternoon.
