25 MPs Test Positive For COVID-19 As Parliament Session Begins; Hanuman Beniwal Tests Positive In Delhi, Negative In Rajasthan

Seventeen members of the Lok Sabha & eight from the Rajya Sabha have tested positive for COVID-19 in the mandatory tests carried out before the monsoon session of parliament. The monsoon session of parliament started on September 14. Among the infected Lok Sabha MPs, the BJP has a maximum number -12. The YSR Congress has two MPs, the Shiv Sena, DMK and RLP one each. Reportedly, altogether, 56 people tested positive during the RT-PCR Tests conducted in the parliament building complex by September 12. The figure includes officials, media persons and MPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Around 200 of the 785 MPs are above the age of 65 years and are among the population vulnerable to COVID-19. Earlier, at least seven Union ministers and around 25 MPs and MLAs had contracted the disease. Among them was Union home minister Amit Shah, who underwent a thorough medical check-up before the parliament session started. Meanwhile, one of the 17 Lok Sabha MPs who tested positive shared on Twitter a contradictory test report. Hanuman Beniwal, an MP from Rajasthan, after being ruled out of the session, said a second test in Jaipur turned out a "negative" result. "Which report should be considered accurate?" he tweeted, posting both reports. India is the second worst-hit country in the world. The country reported 92,071 cases in a day, which took its total count past the 48-lakh mark.