Two-day Haryana assembly session could be cut short after CM Khattar, Speaker test positive

CM Manohar Lal Khattar & Speaker Gian Chand Gupta tested positive Monday. The opposition, however, says its ready to take on the govt even if the CM doesn’t attend the session.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar | ANI File photo

Chandigarh: With both Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta testing positive for Covid-19 Monday, the two-day House session from 26 August is likely to be a washout.

The session, during which the opposition had planned to corner the government on a series of controversies such as the liquor and land registry scams that have come to light in the past one month, is now expected to be reduced to a single day.

Talking to ThePrint, Speaker Gupta said that a proposal to this effect is going to be discussed during the business advisory committee meeting Wednesday morning and if there is a general agreement with the opposition, the session would be reduced to a single day.

Leader of the Opposition and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, however, told ThePrint that he has not yet received any proposal to reduce the session to a single day.

“Already the session with just two days was too little to discuss the host of issues facing the state, and reducing it to a single day will be a mockery of democracy,” he said.

Hooda, however, said even if the CM doesn’t attend the session, they’re ready to take on the government.

Both Gupta and Khattar took to Twitter to announce that they have tested positive.

The chief minister had attended a meeting on the issue of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in Delhi last week where he was sitting next to Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who, on 20 August, tested positive for Covid-19. Following this, Khattar had quarantined himself.

Two MLAs, assembly staff test positive too

The two-day monsoon session was announced last month in order to fulfil the Constitutional requirement of the assembly meeting at least once in six months. The last session of the assembly was held in March when the annual budget was presented.

In the Speaker’s absence, Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa will preside over the proceedings of the House. The session will put the spotlight on Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala, who will be leading the treasury benches during the proceedings.

Apart from the chief minister and the Speaker, at least two other MLAs, Aseem Goel from Ambala and Ram Kumar from Indri, have tested positive for the disease Monday.

Also, six assembly officials have tested positive following a special testing drive of the entire Vidhan Sabha staff ahead of the session.

All MLAs had taken the Covid test as part of the drive and their results are likely to come Tuesday.

The Speaker has also made it mandatory for anyone entering the assembly during the session to first test for Covid and show a Covid-negative certificate.

Asked about the opposition raising issues to corner the government during the session, Gupta said: “Even if discussions take place on these issues, the final reply has to come from the chief minister who will not be attending the session.”