Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Isolates Himself

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said he has tested positive for the coronavirus infection and has isolated himself. He also appealed to those who have come in contact with him to get tested.

“Yesterday, I was feeling weak and consulted my doctor. During the course of my check-up, I have been tested COVID-19 positive. I am at present doing well with the blessings and good wishes of all. I have isolated myself,” said the Union Minister of of Road Transport and Highways in a tweet, urging those who have come in contact with him to undergo tests.

Gadkari is the latest Union minister to have tested positive for the infection. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also contracted the virus, recovered recently and was discharged from AIIMS Delhi.

The news about Gadkari’s infection came on the day when Lok Sabha MP from Tirupati, Balli Durga Prasad, died of Covid-19. The YSRCP leader, who was 64 years old, was undergoing treatment for coronavairus at a private hospital in Chennai.

All parliamentarians and staff of the secretariats of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had undergone the mandatory Covid-19 tests before the start of the monsoon session on Monday. Mediapersons covering the proceedings also underwent the test and at least one of them has tested positive, sources said.

Gadkari had also attended the first day of the session and had made a brief appearance in Parliament.

According to details available with Parliament authorities, around 30 MPs and over 50 employees of the secretariats had tested positive for the infection. The monsoon session of Parliament is being held in two shifts — the Rajya Sabha in the morning and the Lok Sabha in the second half of the day.

The Lok Sabha members were tested at the Parliament House on September 13 and 14 — during a mandatory test for those attending this year’s Monsoon Session, which will end on October 1.

(With inputs from PTI)