Monsoon Session: 17 MPs including Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde test positive for COVID-19

Seventeen Members of Parliament, including ruling BJP leaders Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde and Parvesh Sahib Singh have tested positive for coronavirus on the first day of Monsoon session of the Parliament.

Seventeen Members of Parliament, including ruling BJP leaders Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde and Parvesh Sahib Singh have tested positive for coronavirus on the first day of Monsoon session of the Parliament. The monsoon session 2020 of Parliament commenced today.

This is the first Parliament session being held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All safety measures have been initiated to conduct the session as per health guidelines amid coronavirus.

In a first of its kind initiative, the members of Parliament marked their attendance through an app on Monday, according to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The Lok Sabha MPs used the 'Attendance Register' App on the first day of the Monsoon session which commenced today.The app is designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to curtail the risk of COVID-19 spread as MPs will not have to use or touch the attendance register. They have to be present inside the Parliament to register themselves using the coordinates provided by the app.

Speaker Om Birla welcomed the MPs and said that it was an extraordinary occassion and urged them to follow all arrangements and guidelines for safety during the COVID-19 pandemic phase. "The session is being held in extraordinary circumstances this time. While we always try to decrease the distances between the members, but this time arrangements have been made to keep them apart. I am aware of the discomfort caused to some members due to this but it is important to do so for safety," Birla said.

The elections to the post of Deputy Chairman in the Upper House were scheduled for today, however, the Lok Sabha on Monday got adjourned till 3 pm tomorrow. (ANI)

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