Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh MLAs of the 403-member House will undergo Covid-19 tests after 20 assembly staffers tested positive Monday. The staffers testing positive has also cast a shadow on the monsoon session set to begin here Friday.
According to UP assembly officials, 20 staffers have tested positive so far while the rest are undergoing Covid-19 tests.
All legislators attending the monsoon session have now been asked to get themselves tested.
“We are informing all members about the places in the Vidhayak Niwas (MLA colony) or a point close to them that will have facilities for testing,” an assembly official said.
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Opposition raises questions on preparedness
With a number of leaders also testing positive in the state, former CM Akhilesh Yadav has demanded proper arrangements at the state assembly ahead of the monsoon session.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mona Mishra said the rising cases, even among members of the UP cabinet, are exposing the government’s claims of having taken steps to effectively contain the pandemic.
“The danger is increasing day-by-day. The government should now reveal its plan as to what arrangements are being made to protect the people’s representatives from this scourge,” she said. “The common public has been suffering from it for a long time and now even the people’s representatives are in grave danger.”
As of now, the government has not issued any official statement regarding the preparations at the state assembly.
When ThePrint tried to contact UP’s Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh, his phone was found switched off. This report will be updated when he responds.
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8 ministers positive, 2 dead so far
The surge in Covid-19 cases in the state has begun to affect the UP cabinet.
On Sunday, Chetan Chauhan, the former cricketer and cabinet minister in the Yogi government, succumbed to Covid-19 after a prolonged battle with the virus.
Earlier, another cabinet minister, Kamal Rani Varun, had passed away after getting infected with the coronavirus. In all, eight ministers of the Yogi government in UP have tested positive for Covid-19.
They include Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh, Rural Development Minister Rajendra Pratap Singh alias Moti Singh, Law and Justice Minister Brajesh Pathak, Jal Shakti Minister Mahendra Singh, AYUSH Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dharam Singh Saini and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Welfare Upendra Tiwari. All of them have now recovered.
Pathak and Singh, however, continue to remain in isolation.
Other politicians to test positive include the Leader of Opposition, Ram Govind Chaudhary of the Samajwadi Party (SP), who has since recovered, SP MLC Sunil Singh Sajan and former MP Dharmendra Yadav.
State BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh is in home isolation after showing symptoms of Covid-19.
According to government figures, UP has so far recorded 50,893 cases and 2,515 deaths due to Covid-19.
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