The Hindu : Front Page : Jyoti Basu admitted to hospital, condition stable

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Monday, Jul 13, 2009
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Jyoti Basu admitted to hospital, condition stable

Ananya Dutta

KOLKATA: Veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu was admitted to a city hospital here on Sunday after he lost consciousness for a while at his Salt Lake residence.

The hospital authorities said that his condition was stable.

Mr. Basu was admitted to the AMRI Hospitals for “transient loss of consciousness.” He complained of abdominal pain, distension and breathing problems, they said.

Mr. Basu was under observation at the Intensive Care Cardiac Unit, according to a medical bulletin issued by the hospital.

There was no further episodes of unconsciousness or abdominal pain, although there were fluctuations in his blood pressure. He was given a liquid diet in the afternoon and with the treatment, he was now comfortable, they said.

Among those who visited him at the hospital was Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

“His condition is stable and the doctors expect a quick recovery. We all hope that he recovers soon,” Mr. Mukherjee said.

The former Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Corporate Affairs Salman Khursheed, Secretary of the West Bengal State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Biman Bose, the State’s Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta and the State’s Minister for Sports and Transport Subhas Chakraborty also visited Mr. Basu.

Mr. Basu, who recently turned 95, had been present at the festivities organised on his birthday on July 8. “To those well-wishers of West Bengal who want development and prosperity for the State, I am with you,” he had said on the occasion. “This year I am unwell and bedridden, but I am very pleased to see you all.”

The hospital authorities said that he was hospitalised for observation and investigation.

A seven-member team of specialists reviewed the results of the tests conducted. The next bulletin on his health will be issued on Monday.

He was last hospitalised in May 2008 following a head injury he had suffered after a fall. Medical tests had revealed that he had developed a blood clot in his brain, but attending physicians had then ruled out surgery considering his age.

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