Jyoti Basu slightly better

The condition of CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu improved slightly on Sunday, the six-member medical team examining him said.
According to DN Agarwal, the director of the private hospital where Basu is admitted, Basu’s nervous system response and urine output are better.

“There has been substantial improvement in Basu’s central nervous system and he has started responding,” Agarwal said.
At the same time, the urine output, which had substantially declined on Saturday, has increased.

“This indicates that his kidney is working fine, which is why we have decided not to conduct dialysis for the time being,” Agarwal said.

According to medical experts, the improvement in the working of the central nervous system is important since it implies that medicines are proving effective. Doctors want to avoid dialysis on the 96-year-old former chief minister since it would be difficult for him to withstand it.

Basu’s heart beat is not as erratic. “Blood pressure has become more stable,” Agarwal said.

On Sunday, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh went to see Basu. Singh recalled how Basu had almost become PM.

“All of us wanted him to become the prime minister since he had a fighting spirit and admirable guts. But unfortunately, his own party did not let that happen,” Singh said.