Uttar Pradesh: Covid cloud forces first hybrid assembly session from today

LUCKNOW: As one more minister and three MLAs tested Covid positive on Wednesday, the state's Legislative Assembly for the first time readied itself to conduct a hybrid monsoon session on Thursday. Arrangements are being made to give options to members to attend the house virtually.
Speaker Hriday Narayan Dikshit chaired the business advisory committee's meeting on Wednesday. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, as Leader of the House, and representatives of other political parties also attended the meeting.
Out of 18 MLAs, who underwent Covid test a day before the start of the session on Wednesday, three tested positive. They are: Tejpal Nagar (Dadri), Sanju Devi (Ambedkar Nagar) and Pervez Ali (Amroha). Besides, five of their staff members also tested Covid positive. Another minister, Udhay Bhan Singh, was also reportedly found positive.
At a time when two senior ministers have succumbed to corona virus and nearly 12 ministers and MLAs have contracted the infection, officers of the Assembly secretariat are leaving nothing to chance. They have made elaborate arrangements not only for conducting Covid tests, but also for making it a hybrid session so that maximum members can attend the House proceedings from the comforts of their residences.
British Parliament was first to conduct hybrid session
Principal secretary, Vidhan Sabha, Pradip Dubey, said that he has dispatched a letter to MLAs with a special request to those who are 65 and above to participate in the monsoon session virtually from their residences.
He stated that in view of the pandemic, MLAs have been advised to be part of the session by marking their virtual attendance. Special arrangements are being made for their virtual attendance and a link is being provided to all of them in this regard, he said and added when a member would press the link he would immediately appear on the LED TVs installed in the House. Dubey further said that even those who are below 65 years can participate virtually if they intend to do so.
Amidst the corona crisis about three months back, the British Parliament was the first in the world to hold a hybrid session, allowing some members to attend virtually and others physically. At the Wednesday meeting, the Opposition pressed for special discussions on the two major issues facing the state (law and order and corona), while the ruling BJP led by parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna made it clear that their priority was to first complete the legislative business of the House.
The Samajwadi Party had authorised Narendra Verma to represent it at the meeting as Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary, who had just recovered from Covid-19, was not in a position to attend it.
Meanwhile, for the first time, only a news agency and Doordarshan have been allowed to do live coverage of house proceedings. For other reporters, arrangements have been made at Tilak Hall where they can watch the proceedings on a giant screen.