Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Rengali constituency, Nauri Nayak, has alleged discrepancy in his Covid 19 test reports.
On Saturday, Nayak alleged that the Covid-19 test he underwent on the Assembly premises on November 19 came out positive while the findings made in the report of an ICMR-approved private lab showed him negative for the virus.
"My swab sample was collected on November 19 on the Assembly premises for examination and on the same night the Assembly secretary informed me over phone that I was positive. He advised me not to attend the session. The next day, I got myself tested again at a private laboratory approved by the ICMR and the report came negative. However, the Assembly authorities have not accepted this report as valid," Naik said.
He said Speaker Surya Narayan Patro has advised him for re-examination after the Sambalpur MLA and his senior party colleague Jay Narayan Mishra, along with some other members, informed the matter to the Speaker.
He expressed doubts over the veracity of the report which the Assembly authorities had furnished. He suspects the positive report could be a ploy to prevent him from attending the house as he had brought the government on the mat by raising questions over covid 19 mismanagement during the last Assembly session.
"I doubt the discrepancy has been made deliberately as I had sought reply from the government regarding Covid-19 spread, number of deaths and expenditure incurred on the treatment of patients in Sambalpur district. It was un-starred question. The government had informed me that the data related to my question is being prepared," Naik said, adding, "however, we are still waiting for the said data."
It may be noted that all MLAs and staff member at the State Assembly had undergone Covid-19 test after the Speaker made tests mandatory before the commencement of the winter session.
As per the direction of the Speaker, RT-PCR tests of the legislators, staff members and other officers were conducted at three special counters in the Assembly premises.
The Speaker had given clear instructions that if any MLA was found positive for COVID-19, he won't be allowed to attend the session. During the last assembly session, more than 15 legislators were diagnosed with coronavirus and they were not allowed to attend the session.