Ashok Gasti Dies at 55, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Loses Battle Against COVID-19
Ashok Gasti, the Bharatiya Janata Party's newly-elected Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, died late on Thursday evening.
Bengaluru, September 17: Ashok Gasti, the Bharatiya Janata Party's newly-elected Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, died late on Thursday evening. According to Manipal hospital director Manish Rai, Ashok Gasti breathed his last at 10:31 pm. He was 55. An advocate by profession, Gasti was admitted to Manipal hospital and diagnosed with severe COVID-19 pneumonia on September 2. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe Tests COVID-19 Positive, BJP MP Attended Monsoon Session.
The BJP leader was elected unopposed to the Upper House on June 12. He also took oath as a member of the Upper House on July 22 at Parliament House. He hailed from the barber community and belonged to Raichur district in Karnataka's northern region, nearly 490 km from Bengaluru. He was the party's former Zilla Parishad President from Raichur district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoled Gasti's death. Coronavirus Tracker For India.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted: "Rajya Sabha MP Shri Ashok Gasti was a dedicated Karyakarta who worked hard to strengthen the Party in Karnataka. He was passionate about empowering the poor and marginalised sections of society. Anguished by his passing away. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti."
Ashok Gasti Dies, PM Narendra Modi Expresses Grief:
Gasti was declared "dead" even when he was alive. Messages of condolence started pouring in around 4 pm when BJP's Karnataka unit tweeted in Kannada that Gasti died due to COVID-19. The first among to react was Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu. Later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister Dr harsh Vardhan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also expressed "condolences" over Gasti's "death".
Later, the Manipal hospital issued a statement, saying Gasti was critical and not dead. "Gasti was admitted with severe Covid-19 pneumonia. He is critically ill with multiple organ failure and was on life support system in the intensive care unit (ICU)," Manipal Director Manish Rai had said to clear the confusion. Subsequently, the above-mentioned leaders deleted their tweets.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 17, 2020 11:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).