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Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge tests Covid +ve; was part of Mekedatu march
Before getting infected, Mallikarjun Kharge was a part of the inaugural event of the Karnataka Congress's padayatra, which demands the implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river.
Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). His office said in a statement that Kharge is asymptomatic and under home isolation.
"He is fully vaccinated but was not yet eligible for his precaution dose," the statement said. It added that five staff members in his Delhi office tested positive a few days back.
Before getting infected, Mallikarjun Kharge was a part of the inaugural event of the Karnataka Congress's padayatra, which demands the implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river.
Also Read| Cong’s Mekedatu march banned, orders Karnataka govt after high court rebuke
An FIR was filed against Kharge and other senior Congress leaders, including state party unit president DK Shivakumar, LoP in Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah and Veerappa Moily, for violating Covid-19 curbs.
On Wednesday evening, Moily also tested positive for Covid-19.
The padayatra is being seen as a super-spreader event amid the worsening pandemic situation in the country.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Karnataka government has hit out at the yatra and shared a purported video on January 9 which showed state Congress president DK Shivakumar coughing.
“Watch Congress President @DKShivakumar coughing in public during his fake protest for Mekedatu dam. It appears that he is having Covid-19 symptoms but is still interacting with Congress workers without a mask,” the state BJP unit tweeted.
Also Read| 75% rise in Parliament Covid-19 cases over 3 days; 718 test positive
The Karnataka government on Wednesday prohibited the yatra with immediate effect. The state, one of the worst-hit from Covid-19, has so far recorded nearly 3.1 million infections.
Meanwhile, weeks ahead of the Union Budget in February, over 700 officials of Parliament have been infected with the virus. Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have ordered a third of their staff to work from home till the end of January.
