Covid shadow: No clarity on participation of oppn MLAS
CHANDIGARH : The Punjab assembly will meet on Friday for a truncated one-day session amid suspense over the participation of most legislators of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) due to the Covid-19 protocol after 30 state MLAS tested positive.
A few of these MLAS, who have tested positive and are in quarantine, had participated in the legislature party meetings of the AAP and SAD for the upcoming sitting of the state assembly before their reports came. Punjab Vidhan Sabha speaker Rana KP Singh on Thursday advised the legislators who came in contact with coronavirus positive ministers or MLAS to follow the protocol and avoid attending the session. Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh also made a similar appeal.
However, the AAP legislators, whose three colleagues tested positive this week, have decided to attend the session, ignoring their advice. “Barring those who have tested positive, other nine party MLAS will go to attend the session. Besides coronavirus, there are other issues such as Scheduled Caste (SC) scholarships, illicit liquor, SYL and sand mafia that need to be raised. We took the decision in a virtual meeting,” Leader of Opposition (LOP) Harpal Singh Cheema said.
Budhram and Manjit Singh Bilaspur, who have tested positive, had attended the AAP legislature party meeting two days ago in which seven other members were present. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislature group, on the other hand, asked the speaker to clarify if the MLAS who had come in contact with their colleague Gurpartap Singh
Wadala, who later tested positive, can attend the assembly session or not. SAD legislature party leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the speaker should give clear-cut directions on the Vidhan Sabha rules and the Covid-19 guidelines. The legislative group was in a state of confusion because it had not received any communication from the speaker, they said. However, the final decision will be taken in a meeting of the legislature party on Friday morning.
The speaker had given the advice after a group of AAP MLAS met him and the SAD legislature party leader wrote to him. As per the official Covid-19 protocol, all contacts of positive persons have to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Of the 30 MLAS who have tested positive so far, 19 are from the Congress, seven from SAD, including a suspended MLA, and four from AAP, including a party rebel. Of them, seven have already recovered, according to official information.
SPEAKER RANA KP SINGH HAS ADVISED THE MEMBERS WHO CAME IN CONTACT WITH CORONAVIRUS POSITIVE COLLEAGUES TO AVOID ATTENDING THE SESSION
The one-day monsoon session will be a dull affair if most opposition members stay away. As per the list of official business, the proceedings will start with obituary references and followed by legislative business and laying of papers. The chief minister ordered Truenat and RAT machines, to be installed at the Vidhan Sabha premises, as well as Punjab Bhawan and MLAS hostel, for testing and early results ahead of the session, where only those who have tested negative for Covid within 48 hours prior to the start of the session will be allowed.
Congress MP Partap Singh
Bajwa, meanwhile, urged the Congress leaders and the assembly speaker to allow more sittings of the session in view of the Covid protocol, as a truncated session without attendance from the opposition parties would be unfortunate.
“Due to the health protocols in effect, MLAS who were in contact with those who tested positive during various legislature party meetings, must quarantine for five days, and are therefore unable to attend tomorrow’s important session,” he said, adding that state government should also not hold any substantive discussions on these issues without the opposition.