PARLIAMENTARIANS ARE SUPERHUMANS

It seems that the government is not scared about coronavirus inside Parliament. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha functioned despite some worried lawmakers demanding that Parliament should be shut in view of the virus heading for the third deadly phase in which it may spread through community interaction. Their request was ignored.

Rajya Sabha Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu, on Wednesday sternly asked three members of the TMC— Derek O’brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Nadimul Haque—to remove the masks they were wearing.

“No masks are allowed inside the House,” Naidu said adding that as senior members they should be aware of the rules. Congress member M.V. Rajeev Gowda said, “When we are advising everyone to practise social distancing, Parliament is continuing to function. We are probably most at risk within Parliament...the virus does not know that we are MPS.”

Naidu said that it was not up to him. “After all, it is the decision of the government and then of the House.” When Naidu again said that masks had to be taken off, Congress’ P. Chidambaram intervened and stated that it would be “unfair” to ask members, who were feeling vulnerable, to remove their masks.

Outside the House, Derek O’brien told this newspaper that Parliament must be shut as the average age of MPS in the Rajya Sabha was 64 and in the Lok Sabha 53 years. “We all sit together, with hardly five inches’ gap between each other.” BJP MP Hema Malini said, “Seeing a large number of people coming to Parliament daily creates fear about coronavirus spread.”