Rahul Gandhi visited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at Chennai's Apollo Hospital
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi visited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at Chennai's Apollo Hospital and said she is "recovering well."
"I came to extend my support to Ms Jayalalithaa. She's recovering. I wish her maximum energy so she'd be able to get well soon," said Mr Gandhi who drove straight from the airport to the hospital and spent almost an hour there.
Rahul Gandhi did not meet Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, he saw her from outside the ward, the hospital sources said.
Doctors said on Thursday evening that the 68-year-old chief minister
needs "a longer stay in hospital" and is "making gradual progress." Their update confirmed that Ms Jayalalithaa remains on respiratory support and is being treated, including by a UK specialist, for lung problems.
Three doctors from AIIMS hospital in Delhi have joined the Chennai doctors attending to the Chief Minister.
Ms Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospital on September 22. Initially the AIADMK said she was being treated for fever and dehydration. Its forecast for when she would leave hospital were repeatedly proven wrong, escalating speculation of how unwell Ms Jayalalithaa is.
Till last week, gaps in the information shared on her health added to the uncertainty and
opposition leaders demanded more frequent updates and even photographs of her in hospital, a demand rejected by an indignant AIADMK.
On Thursday, the Madras High Court said the government
does not need to make a formal statement on the Chief Minister's health or choose a stand-in for her while she is in hospital.
Governor C Vidyasagar Rao who visited Ms Jayalalithaa in hospital a few days ago has reportedly advised the party that a daily bulletin on her health be shared nightly by 8 pm.
The AIADMK has filed police cases against four people for misreporting the party chief's health on social media.