New Delhi [India], September 18 (ANI): Rajya Sabha was adjourned for 30 minutes on Friday over the demise of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ashok Gasti.

The first-time Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka Gasti was admitted to a private hospital in Bengaluru after testing positive for COVID-19, and passed away on Thursday.

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"I refer with profound sorrow to the passing away of Ashok Gasti, who was a sitting member of this House from Karnataka. The country has lost an able parliamentarian," said Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu today.

Rajya Sabha MP and BJP Karnataka leader Ashok Gasti passed away in Bengaluru on Thursday.

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He was admitted to Manipal Hospital after he tested positive for coronavirus.

55-year-old Gasti was elected to the Rajya Sabha in June and taken oath as the MP of the Upper House on July 22, 2020. (ANI)

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