New Delhi: Despite Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asserting on Monday that Arun Jaitley was recovering fast, rumours regarding the health of the Finance and Defence Minister kept Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and workers occupied all day Monday.
“Nearly a month has passed since Jaitleyji was seen active, and we are made to believe that it is just a minor health problem,” said a BJP leader, who requested anonymity. “I hope there is nothing serious about his health, but the whole attempt to suppress information does tend to raise questions about his well-being.”
Sixty-one-year-old Jaitley had undergone “a planned diabetes management surgery” on September 2 at Max Super Specialty Hospital in South Delhi. Three weeks later, he developed fresh complications and was readmitted for further treatment. At that time, it was reported that he was suffering from gastroenteritis and a respiratory infection. On Sunday, Jaitley was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences and was lodged at the special isolation facility at the Cardiothoracic and Neurosciences Centre in All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
While the minister being shifted to AIIMS, a source had told mediapersons that “Jaitley has recovered satisfactorily from respiratory infection. He has been advised further rest in complete isolation to avoid any recurrence of infection.” In an apparent bid to tone down the significance of the change in hospital, this source added that even when Jaitley was in Max Hospital, a team of doctors from AIIMS had gone there to conduct regular check-ups.
One section of the BJP believes that there is a conspiracy to spread rumours about the minister’s health. “In politics, rumours, too, are planned down to their last detail,” said a leader from the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit. On being asked to name the persons whom he thought were running the rumour mills, the BJP leader replied, “Everyone knows which minister in Modiji’s government is fighting a cold war with Jaitleyji. Go and ask this question to anyone inside or outside the BJP and you would know the answer. ”
The effort to underplay the significance of Jaitley being shifted to AIIMS from Max Hospital have apparently failed to yield desired results. From the moment he was shifted to AIIMS, the rumour mills started working overtime. On Monday, almost every political leader seemed eager to discover Jaitley’s “real ailment”.
Later in the day, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan tried to put the speculation to rest by saying that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with his colleague’s health. “Jaitleyji is improving and he will be better soon,” Vardhan said. “He just needs rest, there is nothing wrong.”
