Gandhinagar, March 17 With most Congress MLAs missing Gujarat Assembly's Budget session to stay put in Jaipur owing to fears of horse-trading, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Tuesday urged Speaker Rajendra Trivedi to get these lawmakers screened when they arrive here for Rajya Sabha voting on March 26.
His BJP colleague and Surat MLA Purnesh Modi demanded that on return, these lawmakers should be quarantined for 14 days and even barred from the Rajya Sabha voting.
The opposition Congress in Gujarat has shifted most of its legislators to neighbouring Rajasthan, where the party is in power. The party has let only a handful of its legislators to remain present in the ongoing Budget session. Even they too were absent on Tuesday, a day after staging a walkout.
Even in the absence of Congress members, the House discussed proposals from the urban development and general administration departments.
The Deputy Chief Minister said in the House: "We have brought back people from affected countries like China, Japan, and Iran etc. But they (Congress MLAs) have gone from a safe place to an affected area. The Rajasthan government will be responsible if anything happens to them. Now that they have gone, we will have to get them tested on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border on their return."
"It is my responsibility to maintain their good health," added Patel.
He then urged the Speaker to get these Congress MLAs tested when they arrive in Gujarat Assembly for the Rajya Sabha voting.
During the discussion, Purnesh Modi said: "Despite no coronavirus positive case in Gujarat, Congress MLAs have left for Jaipur, where positive cases have been reported. If they get infected, how will they return for the Rajya Sabha elections?
"Congress MLAs returning to Gujarat from coronavirus-affected areas of Rajasthan should be quarantined for 14 days. If they violate these guidelines and arrive directly in the Gujarat Assembly on March 26, who will be responsible?"
The BJP legislator demanded that these Assembly members be barred from participating in the Rajya Sabha elections.
( With inputs from IANS )