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Indian PM's doctor denies prostate cancer |
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August 31, 2000
NEW DELHI (AP) - Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is in fine health and is not suffering from prostate cancer, his personal doctor said Wednesday, reacting to media speculation days before the Indian leader's visit to the United States. "The prime minister's health is fine. Let me clarify that he has no prostate cancer or any similar problem," Dr. Ramesh Kumar, the prime minister's personal physician since 1973, told The Associated Press. "He has age-related knee problems and that is all. There is nothing else," said Kumar, a consultant at the Batra Hospital in the capital. Kumar said he examines Vajpayee every morning. Vajpayee, who will turn 76 on Christmas Day, complained Sunday of acute pain in the knees and cut short his stay at his Bharatiya Janata Party's executive committee meeting in Nagpur in western Maharashtra state. Newspapers reported that he felt uneasy and was led to a room next to the podium. Vajpayee, famous as one of the best orators in Parliament, then spoke sitting on a chair. He flew back to New Delhi midway through the meeting, reigniting Indian media speculation about whether he may suffer from a more serious illness. Media reports have often mentioned prostate cancer. The government has repeatedly denied the reports. A spokesman for the prime minister said Wednesday that Vajpayee would not undergo a medical examination while in the United States from Sept. 5-18. He is to address the U.N. General Assembly and pay a state visit to Washington. A medical checkup at an American hospital "is not on the schedule," Vajpayee's spokesman, Anil Saxena, said. Vajpayee had one of his kidneys removed in 1986. He has also had operations to remove cataracts in both his eyes. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said after the Nagpur meeting that Vajpayee was having difficulty in sitting due to pain in his knee joints, caused by a osteoarthritis. An official spokesman said doctors had advised him not to be on his feet for long. Reports of Vajpayee's ill health make politicians and economists nervous, as he is considered the lynchpin in a coalition government of more than 20 parties. His alliance returned to office last October after the third parliamentary elections in three years. On July 25, a meeting of the party's parliamentary group was canceled after party officials announced Vajpayee had a "throat infection." On Aug. 15, India's Independence Day, Vajpayee took a few steps forward after delivering his speech at the historic Red Fort, faltered and had to return and lean on the dais for support. When he made another attempt to walk toward his seat, he staggered into the arms of a commando and walked to an elevator supported by two commandos. The Prime Minister's Office later announced that Vajpayee had suffered a muscle pull. |
