Kolkata, Jan 8 (Inditop.com) Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu, who has been hospitalised with pneumonia, was Friday “slightly better” but still critical and acknowledged former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda who visited him by lifting his hand.
“He is slightly better. He was put on full ventilation Thursday night as a precautionary measure, but the support has again been reduced to partial since morning. This is a good indicator,” AMRI hospital medical superintendent Debasish Sharma told Inditop.
“His other parameters like urine output, blood pressure and oxygen content in blood are also better,” Sharma said.
Former prime minister Deve Gowda, who called on the ailing leader Friday morning, said: “A doctor tried to wake him up. He lifted his hand. He did not open his eyes.”
Basu, who was West Bengal chief minister for 23 years, was put on ventilator support due to acute respiratory problems early Jan 6.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader was admitted to the hospital in the city’s satellite township of Salt Lake Jan 1 following chest congestion and infection and transferred to the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) early Jan 2.
Earlier, attending doctor Susrut Banerjee told reporters that the eight-member medical board constituted to treat the 95-year-old leader was awaiting the final culture and sensitivity reports of the bacterial examinations done on him to discuss the next course of medication.
Asked about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s offer of arranging for expert doctors from any part of India, Banerjee said: “We have asked the family and party members whether they think they need any specialist from outside. After all the patient is serious and very old. The results are unknown.”
“It is not possible for us to ascertain the condition of every organ now. Any organ can turn bad at short notice,” he said.
A steady stream of political luminaries, besides the prime minister, called on Basu Thursday. Governor Devanand Konwar, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, his Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat and his party comrades Brinda Karat and Sitaram Yechury were among those who visited the hospital.
Basu holds the record for the longest stint as chief minister after having being at the helm of affairs in the state for 23 uninterrupted years. Born 1914 in Kolkata, Basu was state chief minister from June 1977 until November 2000, heading a Left Front government led by the CPI-M. He stepped down voluntarily on health grounds.
