Seventeen members of Parliament have tested positive for coronavirus in the mandatory tests carried out before the monsoon session started this morning.
The Lok Sabha members were tested at the Parliament House on September 13 and 14, sources said. On the first day of the delayed session, nearly 200 members 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.
Among the infected MPs, the BJP has a maximum number – 12, the YRS Congress has two MPs, the Shiv Sena, DMK and RLP one each.
Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde and Parvesh Sahib Singh were among the 24 who have contracted the viral disease, according to sources.
MPs have been accommodated keeping in mind physical distancing norms.
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Benches that usually accommodate six members had a numbered seating plan for only three.
National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Monday attended the Monsoon Session of Parliament for the first time after a gap of more than a year since the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
The last parliamentary session was cut short on March 25 following the spread of the deadly Covid-19 disease. The government has decided to do away with the Question Hour and instead only written replies will be given in the Monsoon Session which will hold 36 sittings -- 16 each for both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha -- without Saturday and Sunday break.