MLA Ravi Subramanya denies allegations of ‘vaccine trade’

Two audio clips have gone viral in which a representative of a private hospital in south Bengaluru is heard telling persons questioning the steep price of vaccine (₹900) that the hospital had to pay ₹

Two audio clips have gone viral in which a representative of a private hospital in south Bengaluru is heard telling persons questioning the steep price of vaccine (₹900) that the hospital had to pay ₹700 to MLA Ravi Subramanya, who had “arranged the vaccine. This has drawn allegations of “vaccine trade”, which Mr. Subramanya denied as “baseless” and part of a “political conspiracy”. In one clip, in which social worker Venkatesh is heard calling up the hospital, the representative is heard asking him to register for vaccination at Mr. Subramanya’s office. The female voice is heard saying that it was Mr. Subramanya who had procured the vaccine and the money would go to him. The State Congress has alleged that the audio tape indicates that Mr. Subramanya was caught in a “vaccination commission scam”. Opposition leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday demanded why there was no action against another hospital, where MP Tejasvi Surya (nephew of Mr. Subramanya) was “selling” vaccines at ₹900.