Rajasthan MP questions Covid test at Parliament

RLP MP Hanuman Beniwal says a false negative test for a positive MP in Parliament will threaten healths of all the MPs.

Rajasthan MP Hanuman Beniwal has dismissed Covid-19 test done at Parliament as “fake” after it found him to be Covid 19 positive more than a month after he was declared recovered from the disease after successful treatment at a Jaipur hospital in August. To confirm his negative status, the MP got his sample tested again by the Jaipur hospital, which was found to be negative, Beniwal said.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) founder and MP Hanuman Beniwal says his Covid 19 test report returned a false positive report. (HT Photo)

Beniwal, MP from Nagaur, gave a sample for testing at Lok Sabha on September 11 and was informed three days later that he had tested positive. The report left Beniwal puzzled since he had already undergone treatment at SMS Hospital in Jaipur after testing positive on July 26 and even completed the 14-day quarantine period after his discharge on August 6.

“After learning about my report from LS secretariat, I spoke to doctors at Jaipur who suggested that I get tested again here. I gave my sample and the SMS Hospital report says I am negative,” the MP said.

Doctors at SMS Hospital said that he was fit and could even donate plasma for treatment of Covid-19 patients, Beniwal added.

He said between July 26 and Monday, he has tested negative thrice and called the Delhi test fake. “I appeal to Lok Sabha Speaker to probe this. False positive is harmless but imagine if a positive person is sitting in the Parliament because he has falsely been tested negative,” he said.

Beniwal is the founder of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), which is supporting National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at Centre. “What pains me more is the fact that despite me being an NDA ally, no one from the government has spoken to me yet to find out about this test fraud,” Beniwal said.

He said he was admitted to Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) hospital in Jaipur on July 30 for Covid-19 care. His second test, conducted on July 31, was also positive. He was discharged on August 7 after he tested negative. After that he was in home isolation for 14 days.