CHENNAI: After undergoing treatment for eight days following breathing difficulties, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Frdiay returned home amid cheers from party cadre who thronged the Kauvery Hospital and his Gopalapuram residence.
The hospital management said he was discharged after recovering well from breathing difficulty due to throat and lung infection.
Although retuning to home, the nonagenarian leader has to be under medical care for a few more weeks.
“As he needs tracheotomy tubes for few more weeks, medical and nursing care will continue to be provided at his home by Kauvery Hospital,” said a medical bulletin issued by the hospital.
Karunanidhi was readmitted to the hospital on December 15 midnight due to severe infection in the throat and lungs triggering apprehensions among party leaders and cadre. However, the hospital released a photograph of the leader watching a programme on television to dispel rumours over his health.
When Karunanidhi’s car inched out of the hospital, delighted party men shouted slogans greeting the leader. A host of senior leaders of DMK, including his son and party treasurer MK Stalin, received him at the Gopalapuram residence. Several top leaders, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, visited the 92-year-old leader at the hospital.
The hospital witnessed unruly scenes when MDMK general secretary Vaiko had gone to visit him. Angry DMK supporters threw footwear and bricks on his car forcing him return without seeing his former mentor.
Earlier in the month, Karunanidhi spent seven days in the same hospital from December 1 to 7 following uneasiness. The hospital management informed that he was admitted for optimisation of nutrients and hydration.
The DMK’s general council meeting scheduled for December 20 had to be postponed due to Karunanidhi’s ill-health. The proposed meeting raised much expectations in the political circles as Stalin was stated to be elevated in the party hierarchy.