Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the 93-year-old former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu who was admitted to a private hospital late Thursday night with breathing difficulty due to throat and lung infection is stable, according to a release by the hospital authorities on Friday.
The release by Dr S Aravindan, executive director, Kauvery Hospital, said Karunanidhi underwent a tracheostomy to optimise breathing. “He is stable, on antibiotics and is being treated by a team of doctors,” said the release. Tracheostomy is a process by which a tube is inserted into the patient’s windpipe to open the restricted airway and enable breathing. Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa who passed away on December 5 too had undergone tracheostomy during her hospitalisation.
Karunanidhi, the longest serving president of the DMK, was brought to the hospital late Thursday night in his Toyota Alphard and there was no secrecy associated with his readmission to the hospital. The DMK chief who had been hospitalised early this month following complications arising out of drug allergy had been discharged last week.
“By Thursday night he developed breathing problems and was drove down to the hospital near to his houses,” said a top DMK functionary. He said the cadre was praying for the well- being of the leader in the backdrop of his advanced age.
A number of senior politicians including former president of TNCC EVKS Elangovan, CPI leader D Pandian called on the hospital to enquire about Karunanidhi’s health.
Rajathi Ammal, Karunanidhi’s third wife and daughter Kanimozhi MP called on the former Chief Minister. Both his sons MK Azhagiri and MK Stalin are giving company to their father. The DMK patriarch has been keeping indifferent health for the last two months and had not appeared in public during the period. It is MK Stalin, his second son, who was looking after the party affairs in the absence of Kalaigar, as he is addressed by the cadre.
As a prelude to anointing Stalin as president of the party, the DMK had convened its general council meeting for December 20 at Chennai. “Stalin would be appointed as the working president of the DMK in that convention. Kalaignar is not able to attend to the day-to-day works of the party anymore,” said a senior DMK leader.