As Arun Jaitley remains 'çritical', Gadkari, Javadekar visit AIIMS today

As former finance minister Arun Jaitley continued to be critical at AIIMS in Delhi, several leaders, including Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar, visited the hospital on Tuesday to enquire about his health. Earlier, there were reports that dignitaries, who have been visiting the hospital, are not allowed inside Jaitley's cabin and going back after meeting his family only. Security has been also beefed up outside the ward, amid reports of deteriorating health of the ailing BJP leader.

On Monday BJP veteran LK Advani, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, UP Governor Anandiben Patel and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Delhi LG Anil Baijal and party MP Maneka Gandhi among others visited the hospital to know about his wellbeing. The Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, P K Mishra, and Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha also visited the hospital on Monday evening.

Other prominent leaders who paid visit to Jaitley, include President Ram Nath Kovind, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Harsh Vardhan, Smriti Irani, Jitendra Singh and Ram Vilas Paswan, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress' Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, BSP supremo Mayawati and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

READ | Don't make me minister, I need time for treatment: Arun Jaitley writes to PM Modi

Jaitley, 66, was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness. However, the hospital is yet to issue any bulletin on Jaitley's health update.

Meanwhile, sources on Sunday said that Jaitley has been shifted to Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) from ventilator and the dialysis process is going to be started anytime soon. Most of his organs are put on life support system and the brain is till alive. A multidisciplinary team of doctors is currently monitoring Jaitley and doing the best they can.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a treatment where a pump is used to circulate blood through an artificial lung back into the bloodstream of a ailing body. It also removes the carbon dioxide and oxygenates red blood cells throughout the body. It is performed either post-cardiopulmonary bypass or in late stage treatment of a person with profound heart or lung failure.

READ | Arun Jaitley hails Union Budget, says India will continue to be 'fastest growing major economy'

Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, had been a key member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the BJP government's first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the government. Jaitley did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election presumably because of his ill-health.

In May this year, Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS for treatment. He had undergone a renal transplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal filling in for him in the finance ministry at that time.

Jaitley, who had stopped attending office since early April last year, was back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018. In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.