Former Prime Minister Vajpayee reported ill way back in 2005, a year after the NDA government led by him stepped down following the BJP’s defeat in the 2004 general election, and he has never made a public appearance ever since
New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on June 11 when he complained of urinary infection, is reported to be critically ill. He is on life support system and there is reportedly no sign of improvement in his health condition.
Sources in the hospital say Vajpayee’s only kidney is barely functioning while the infection has spread to the intestines. His lungs have been functioning sub-optimally, too. His condition has deteriorated over the past 24 hours.
The AIIMS has released a statement, saying Vajpayee’s condition is serious.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Vajpayee early on August 15 and spent about 50 minutes at the hospital.
At the time of filing of this report, Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Dr Harsh Vardhan and Smriti Irani were at the hospital and so was BJP leader from Bihar Shahnawaz Hussain. MP Meenakshi Lekhi visited the hospital, too, as did minister Suresh Prabhu.
Opposition leaders, including Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao — have inquired about Vajpayee's health and expressed their concern about his medical condition. Banerjee's TMC and Naidu's TDP were constituents of the coalition government of NDA led by Vajpayee.
Vajpayee reported ill way back in 2005, a year after the NDA government led by him stepped down following the BJP’s defeat in the 2004 general election, and he has never made a public appearance ever since.
Vajpayee did not make a public appearance even at the time when the Union government conferred upon him Bharat Ratna. His room in his residence on the Krishna Menon Marg has for long been turned virtually into an intensive care unit.
The former prime minister has been reported to be suffering from dementia for the past few years. Vajpayee is 93.
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