Jyoti Basu’s condition critical; put on ventilator

Kolkata: The condition of Jyoti Basu, 95, veteran Marxist leader and former chief minister of West Bengal, who has been admitted to hospital after an attack of pneumonia, is “critical.”

Doctors attending him on Basu said his condition has, however, improved a little.

Basu was put on ventilator on Wednesday morning after he had trouble breathing.

A medical bulletin from AMRI Hospital in Kolkata said the condition of Jyoti Basu is “still critical” and a team of doctors is constantly monitoring his condition.

Some “positive changes” in his health condition have been noticed since Wednesday morning, the medical bulletin added.

On the “positive changes” in Basu’s condition, one doctor attending on him said that there has been some output of urine, and the blood pressure is under control “to some extent.”

The team of doctors will meet again at 11 a.m. on Thursday to review Basu’s condition, according to the medical bulletin.

Jyoti Basu had been admitted to the intensive cardiac care unit of AMRI Hospital in Salt Lake, a suburb of Kolkata, where he lives, a week ago after he has had an attack of pneumonia.

Jyoti Basu, born in 1914 in Kolkata, was chief minister of West Bengal from June 1977 till November 2000, heading the CPM-led Left Front government.

He stepped down as chief minister voluntarily, on health grounds, in November 2000.

Jyoti Basu, one of the founders of the Communist Party in India, had a very good chance to become the Prime Minister of the country 1996, but his party shot down the proposal.

CPM leaders Amitava Nandi and Robin Deb, CPM Politburo member Biman Bose, Congress leader and former mayor of Kolkata Subrata Mukherjee, Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra and actor Mithun Chakraborty visited the hospital where Jyoti Basu has been admitted.

Meanwhile, Chandan Basu, son of Jyoti Basu, told reporters that he “felt bad” about the rumours doing the rounds about the health of his father, particularly in some websites.

Chandan Basu also requested the media not to spread rumours about his father’s health condition.