Karnataka government failed on vaccination front: KPCC chief

Bengaluru: The State Congress on Sunday alleged that a few members of the ruling BJP government in Karnataka had failed to provide vaccines for the people. As the State continues to struggle to procure vaccines and inoculate citizens, an alleged vaccination scam has come to the forefront.

Taking to Twitter, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief D.K. Shivakumar said, "Currently the Karnataka government is a 95% failure on vaccination. Only about 5% eligible people are fully vaccinated. I ask the people of Karnataka, do we not deserve better?"

This comes a day after Congress accused Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya and Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya of 'making profits' by being involved in the scam. He said that the BJP leaders were 'earning' Rs 700 'commission' by selling vaccines for Rs 900 a dose through private hospitals, and that is why we're not allowing Congress to procure vaccines with MLA/MLC development funds.

The State Congress demanded arrest of Ravi Subramanya and accused Tejasvi Surya of promoting paid vaccination in private hospitals. Also, he sought a HC-monitored probe and disqualification of the BJP leaders.

Reports linked Ravi Subramanya to AV Multispeciality Hospital in Hosakerehalli. Subramanya, however, denied the allegations and said that he was nowhere connected to the said hospital.

"Death figures in Karnataka continue to cry out loud of BJP's inefficiency in taking care of our people with 492 lives lost to Covid yesterday. BJP vaccine scam is the reason the Government refuses to budge to Let Congress Vaccinate. They want to make profit out of people's misery" Shivakumar further added.

The KPCC recently launched an online campaign 'Let Congress Vaccinate' in a bid to build pressure on the government to allow the party to procure Covid vaccines directly from the manufacturers. Karnataka has been facing a shortage of vaccines for the 18-44 age group and have mostly been vaccinating frontline workers in this category. It plans to open 18 plus vaccination centres for all from June 1.