Karunanidhi stable, to be kept under observation for 48 hours

Karunanidhi was rushed from his Gopalapuram residence under the supervision of his son MK Stalin and admitted to the hospital at 1.30am Saturday following a sudden dip in his blood pressure, a day after the hospital said he was being offered hospital-level treatment at his house.

“DMK president Karunanidhi’s health continues to remain stable. He is continuously being monitored and treated by a panel of expert doctors in the intensive care unit,” Dr Aravindan Selvaraj, executive director of Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, said in the bulletin issued almost 18 hours since the first one at 2.30am Saturday in which the hospital said, “His blood pressure has been stabilised.” Family members, including estranged son MK Alagiri and senior DMK leaders, have been shuttling between their houses and the hospital since Saturday morning. The same morning, Karunanidhi’s daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi told the media outside the hospital, “He is better,” parrying queries about the scare last night and fears expressed about her father’s health condition. 

Sources close to the family told DTNext, “The 94-year-old DMK chief is breathing naturally without ventilator support. His BP is normal, but he is being administered drugs for infections.” Sources added he would be kept under observation for at least another 48 hours. 

Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik visited and inquired about the DMK chief’s health with Stalin and Kanimozhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former BJP leader Yaswant Sinha wished him well on Twitter. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had a “long discussion” with the family, told press persons, “Karunanidhiji is in ICU. We met Stalin, Kanimozhi and her mother. We are happy that he is stable.”

“He developed UTI three days ago. Subsequently, he developed infection and septicaemia, which is what caused the fever. Initially, they started him on antibiotics. However, on Friday, his blood pressure fell. He was rushed to the hospital. As of now, he is better,” a government source added.