New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday outsmarted most politicians in the National capital. He was among the first few people to drive down to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to inquire about the health of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He spent about 10 minutes there, wishing Vajpayee an early recovery. Soon after Rahul’s visit, the BJP political circles were in a tizzy with every politician worth his salt — the likes of BJP President Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh – making a beeline for the hospital for a chat with the doctors.
Even PM Modi wriggled out of his busy routine to dash to the AIIMS — an hour after Rahul Gandhi and Shah had called on Vajpayee. However, it isn’t known if the leaders were permitted to meet the former prime minister; reports said that visitors were barred from visiting Vajpyaee. Amid speculations of Vajpayee being critical, his family has said that he is as healthy as he was two days ago and this is just a routine check-up. According to one report, he underwent dialysis following complaints of lower respiratory tract infection and kidney issues.
PM Modi spoke to the doctors and spent about 50 minutes at the AIIMS with Vajpayee’s relatives. L K Advani, one of the most trusted men in the Vajpayee government, too, rushed to the hospital around 9pm. That was a cause of concern and had the grapevine abuzz with uninformed health details. Vajpayee withdrew from active politics in 2008 due to health concerns and remains confined to his home at the Krishna Menon Marg, where a unit of AIIMS has been set up to provide him round-the clock care.
At the AIIMS, he is under the supervision of its director Dr Randeep Guleria, a highly respected pulmonologist who has been Vajpayee’s personal physician for more than three decades. The 93-year-old former PM’s condition is stable, the hospital said in a health bulletin, adding that many tests were being carried out. AIIMS dismissed reports of a cardiac arrest or any specific trigger for the check-up. He may be, however, overnight before returning home. Others who visited to inquire about Vajpayee’s health included Union Health Minister J P Nadda.