PM cuts short his Nagpur trip due to health reasons

The PM, however, completed his morning engagements in Nagpur which included a visit to the RSS Headquarters and an address to the BJP National Council.

Vajpayee walked very slowly to the podium at the BJP meet at 11 am and remained seated for an hour. But as the new BJP president Bangaru Laxman started his lengthy speech, Vajpayee left for a room behind the podium. He returned after resting for one hour and left for Delhi after speaking for barely five minutes.

The Prime Minister said that at one stage he felt he would not be able to make it to the BJP convention but “could not resist temptation of coming down to Nagpur.” He however, refused to talk to the media about the reason for leaving early. Even senior ministers like Rajnath Singh, Shanta Kumar and Kashi Ram Rana had no clue as to why Vajpayee left in a huff.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan and BJP spokesman M. Venkaiah Naidu cited health reasons for the Prime Minister’s sudden departure. “He is suffering from osteo-arthiritis in his both knees which exacerbated last night. Doctors have advised him not to strain too much,” Naidu said in a statement.

Home Minister L.K. Advani too refused to elaborate. “I will not tell you anything today because I don’t want to distract the media from the BJP convention,” Advani said.

On his return to Delhi, the prime minister walked down the stairs from the aircraft to scotch speculation about a serious health problem. He told correspondents as he alighted that he was feeling fine except for the pain in his knees and that his two-week long visit to the United States next month was very much on and would not be shortened.

Vajpayee has been plagued by osteo arthritis in both knees for some years now. His stumbles at Red Fort, both in 1998 and this year, were a result of this condition.

According to doctors, osteo arthritis sets in when the ends of weight-bearing joints like the knees, ankles and hips wear away because of the ageing process. It causes the cartileges, which ensure flexibility, to fragment and the synovial fluid in the joints gets thinner. The result is severe pain and irritation in the joints.

In Vajpayee’s case, the knees, particularly the left one, tend to get locked if he stays in one position for a long time, causing him to lose his balance.

The condition is quite common, say doctors. The usual treatment is physiotherapy and rest. In acute cases, doctors may advise arthoscopy to suck out the loose cartilege fragments or knee cap replacement surgery.

According to Dua, Vajpayee was advised rest after the Parliament session. Since the BJP National Council Meet was scheduled for the weekend, he was unable to take time off. This exacerbated the pain and this morning, it was decided that after he finishes his main engagements in Nagpur, he would fly home to rest.

PMO sources said there was no need for Vajpayee to be hospitalised. He has ample time to rest since has no engagements scheduled for tomorrow because he was supposed to be away in Nagpur.