Seventeen members of Parliament, including 12 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have tested positive for COVID-19 in the in the mandatory tests conducted before the Monsoon Session of Parliament which began on Monday.
BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi, Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and Anant Kumar Hegde are among those tested positive for coronavirus.
Mandatory testing was conducted on all MPs before the monsoon session began with precautionary measures.
Tweleve of the 17 MPs are from the BJP, while the YRS Congress has two, the Shiv Sena, DMK and RLP one each.
Earlier, BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar had said on Sunday that he tested positive for COVID-19.
"Have tested #Covid19 positive today. I am doing well & taking doctor's advice," Majumdar, who represents the Balurghat Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal, said.
"Requesting all those who have come in close contact with me in the last few days to monitor their health and get tested in case of any symptoms," he added.
Here is the list of all 17 MPs who have tested positive:
BJP
1. Meenakshi Lekhi
2. Dr. Sukanata Majumdar
3. Janardan Singh Sigriwal
4. Bidyut Baran Mahato
5. Pradan Baruah
6. Anant Kumar Hegde
7. Pratap Rao Patil
8. Dr. Ram Shankar Katheria
9. Parvesh Sahib Singh
10. Satya Pal Singh
11. Rodmal Nagar
12. Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria
YRSCP
13. Goddeti Madhavi
14. N Reddeppa
RLP
15. Hanuman Beniwal
Shiv Sena
16. Pratap Rao Jadav
DMK
17. Selvam. G
The Hindu reported that at least seven Rajya Sabha members also tested positive including two each from the Congress and the BJP and one each from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Aam Aadmi Party.
The members were tested at the Parliament House on September 13 and 14-- a during a mandatory test for those attending this year's Monsoon Session which will end on October 1.
According to detailed guidelines issued by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats for the monsoon session, COVID-19 test of the MPs need to be done 72 hours before the start of the session and it can be done either in their constituencies or at the Parliament complex.
"In case a member is found to be negative, she/he can attend the session.... In case a member is found positive, she/he will have to go for institutional isolation/hospitalisation as per advice of doctor and as per patient/clinical management protocol," according to the guidelines.
The first-of-its-kind monsoon session will see Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sitting in two different shifts, while special seating arrangements have been made for MPs in adherence to social distancing guidelines.
(With agencies)
