New Delhi, August 16: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s condition continued to be critical after he was put on life support on Wednesday, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said on Thursday, as leaders from several political parties visited him at the New Delhi hospital.
“He is critical and is on life support systems,” the media and protocol division of the hospital said in the update about the 93-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party leader.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the hospital around 2pm, the second time in the less than 24 hours, to visit the BJP leader. Several senior leaders and Union ministers also visited AIIMS to inquire about Vajpayee after his condition deteriorated drastically on Wednesday. Those who went to the hospital included senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani, vice-president Venkaiah Naidu, the saffron party’s chief Amit Shah and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, Harsh Vardhan, Anupriya Patel, and Ram Vilas Paswan.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah were also among those who came to the hospital.
“We all should pray for his recovery. We should not forget that he is a leader who wanted to make the country strong. He wanted peace not only in our country but the whole world,” Abdullah said.
“He is our idol. With just his presence we got inspiration and encouragement. We pray for his health. No one can ever be like Atal Ji. Campaigning for him was an honour for me,” Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
Other leaders like the Peoples Democratic Party’s chief Mehbooba Mufti and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu N Chandrababu Naidu prayed for the veteran leader. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her counterpart in Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, and Odisha Naveen Patnaik have said they will travel to Delhi to inquire about Vajpayee.
The hospital issued a statement late on Wednesday that said the condition of Vajpayee, who has been at AIIMS for the last nine weeks, had worsened over the past 24 hours.
Vajpayee was admitted to AIIMS on June 11 with kidney tract infection, chest congestion, urinary tract infection and low urine output, indicating impaired kidney functions. He was put on slow dialysis in June to help his kidneys heal and is being treated in the intensive care unit of the cardiothoracic and neuroscience tower at AIIMS since then.
The former prime minister’s overall health had deteriorated after he suffered a stroke in 2009 that hampered his brain function. He has diabetes, has one functional kidney and developed dementia after the stroke.
Source Hindustan Times
