Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA, Omprakash Sakhlecha, has tested COVID-19 positive on Saturday, just a day after exercising his franchise for the Rajya Sabha polls on the Assembly premises in Bhopal, creating a flutter among those who were in close contact with him on the day.
Sakhlecha represents the Jawad constituency in Neemuch district and his wife has also reportedly tested positive.
At least four other MLAs who were with Sakhlecha on the Assembly premises on Friday have undergone tests in Bhopal and their reports are awaited. They are Yashpal Singh Sisodia of Mandsaur, Devilal Dhakad of Garoth, Aniruddh Maroo of Manasa and Dilip Singh Parihar of Neemuch, sources said.
Also 15 other persons, including the drivers and gunmen of the MLAs as well as the wife of one of the MLAs, have given their sample for testing, sources said.
Congress MLA Kunal Choudhary had tested COVID-19 positive ahead of the polling and had cast his vote wearing a PPE suit, after all other MLAs had exercised their franchise. The entire Assembly area the MLA had visited was sanitized after he left.
But with this new positive report, the Assembly Secretariat has swung in action and is checking the CCTV footage of the voting process to find out who all were in close contact with MLA Sakhlecha.
“There were proper preventive measures in place and all the MLAs were provided with gloves and masks and personally sanitized. Also the employees were equipped with preventive gear and were constantly sanitizing themselves. The Assembly premises were also being sanitized every half an hour under the guidance of a health department team. But if the MLA (who tested positive) spoke to people around him without his mask on, these people will have to undergo procedure as per protocol. So we are looking at the CCTV footage to trace such contacts,” principal secretary of MP Assembly, A.P. Singh told THE WEEK.
Sources said that the Jawad MLA had also participated in a lunch on Thursday in the presence of 14 other MLAs. This is causing a flutter among the entire lot. Sakhlecha, who had visited containment areas in Jawad before coming to Bhopal, is likely to have contacted the infection there, sources added.
Also, a woman in the vicinity of his house had recently tested positive after which he had shifted to his farmhouse with family, sources said.
What is being questioned is whether the movement of the MLA was not restricted by the district administration and his sample was not taken for testing while in Jawad.
MP BJP president Vishnudutt Sharma said that the party is keeping watch on the scenario and the close contacts of the MLA are being traced for further procedure. “We will take the suitable steps required,” he said.
