Hours after Kauvery Hospital in the city released a medical bulletin on the health of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam patriarch M Karunanidhi, senior AIADMK Ministers visited him at his Gopalapuram residence.
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, Electricity Minister P Thangamani and Minister for Municipal Administration SP Velumani visited the 94-year-old leader on Thursday night.
Earlier in the evening, a statement released by Kauvery Hospital read, “He is currently being treated for fever due to Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) with intravenous antibiotics and fluids. He is being monitored and treated round the clock by a team of medical and nursing professionals, who are providing hospital-level care at his home.”
The hospital statement also said that due to his medical condition, visitors are strictly restricted.
Addressing the media after the visit, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said, “He is well. The leader’s health is well.”
Terming the visit ‘political decency’, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said, “He is well. This is political decency. This is beyond politics. When Amma was unwell, they also came and saw. Based on that, we also came and saw. We spoke to everyone. He was able to identify us.”
Karunanidhi's son and DMK Working President MK Stalin received the AIADMK leaders. DMK leaders Duraimurugan, Raja and TR Baalu were also present.
On July 18, Karunanidhi was admitted to Kauvery Hospital for a tracheotomy procedure. At the time, the hospital had said that the former CM has been admitted as part of a routine medical check-up and the procedure has to be done every six months. He was discharged the same evening.
Karunanidhi has been suffering from a lung disease, for which he has been undergoing the treatment for several months now. The DMK chief was hospitalised in October 2016 for allergy-related ailments. In December 2016, he was admitted thrice and had later undergone a tracheotomy which involves creating an opening in the windpipe to enable breathing.
It is after this that he requires a tracheo tube replacement every six months. In 2017 he had been admitted at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai where he had undergone the same minor procedure.