By Nagarjun Dwarakanath
BJP Karnataka President BY Vijayendra slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his remarks linking the sudden rise in heart attack deaths in Hassan district to Covid vaccines. Vijayendra called the Chief Minister鈥檚 statement 鈥渂aseless and useless鈥, accusing him of creating panic without evidence.鈥淚s the vaccine given only in Hassan? Over 80 crore people have taken it. Many have died of heart attacks for over a decade. Studies have shown it鈥檚 not because of vaccines. The Chief Minister should stop giving useless statements,鈥 Vijayendra said.Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, R Ashoka, also lashed out against Siddaramaiah on social media, accusing the Congress government of deflecting blame instead of taking accountability. 鈥淚nstead of providing answers to grieving families, CM Siddaramaiah is indulging in dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric, blaming Covid vaccines approved by global health authorities, without a shred of scientific evidence,鈥 Ashoka posted on X.He added, 鈥淭he Covid vaccine was not a BJP vaccine; it was India鈥檚 vaccine. Developed by our scientists, approved by regulators, and backed by global data. Crores of lives were saved because of India鈥檚 vaccination drive.鈥濃淭o now use these tragedies to cast doubts on the vaccine and shift accountability is both anti-science and anti-people,鈥 he said.鈥淪iddaramaiah has no knowledge of medical science but still makes such baseless claims. If vaccines are to be blamed, then deaths should be rising across Karnataka, not just in Hassan,鈥 Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, criticising Siddaramaiah. This clearly reflects the poor health facilities under his government. He should immediately form an expert committee to investigate instead of making such statements.鈥漈he backlash comes after Siddaramaiah said the state government has taken serious note of the alarming rise in cardiac deaths in Hassan, with 23 deaths in the last 40 days, including among youngsters.He suggested that the hasty approval and distribution of Covid vaccines could be among the reasons, citing recent global studies, while ordering a probe led by Jayadeva Institute’s Director Dr Ravindranath. The committee has been asked to submit its report in 10 days.Siddaramaiah also accused the BJP of politicising the issue rather than reflecting on decisions made when it was in power during the vaccine rollout.The surge in heart attack deaths, particularly among those aged 19 to 45, caused widespread panic in Hassan and surrounding areas, leading to an 8 per cent spike in footfall at Jayadeva Hospital in Bengaluru. While the District Health Department says Hassan has reported 507 heart attack cases with 190 deaths in the past two years, this sudden cluster has prompted fresh alarm.- EndsPublished By: Deepthi Published On: Jul 2, 2025Tune InMust Watch