New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been diagnosed with dengue, AIIMS officials informed on Saturday, while adding that his health condition is improving.


The 89-year-old veteran Congress leader was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital on Wednesday evening after he complained of weakness following a fever. 


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“He has been diagnosed with dengue, but his platelet count is now increasing and his condition is improving,” an AIIMS official said, as quoted by news agency PTI.


Dr Manmohan Singh has been admitted to a private ward in the cardio-neuro centre of the hospital and is under the care of a team of cardiologists led by Dr Nitish Naik.


Soon after the former prime minister was admitted to AIIMS, several prominent leaders such as PM Narendra Modi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, and former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh extended their wishes for his speedy recovery.


Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday and enquired about his health, followed by Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the ailing Congress leader later in the evening.


However, a row erupted over the Health Minister’s visit as he was accused of taking a photographer with him without the family’s permission. 


Row Over Mansukh Mandaviya’s Visit


Manmohan Singh’s daughter, Daman Singh, hit out at Mansukh Mandaviya for having a photographer enter the room against the wishes of the family especially her distressed mother.


Daman Singh told ThePrint that her mother was very upset because a photographer had entered the room along with the minister. When she insisted that the photographer leave the room, “she was completely ignored”. 


“She was very upset. My parents are trying to cope in a difficult situation. They are elderly people. Not animals in a zoo,” Daman Singh said, criticising the incident.


The statement came after photos of the Union Health Minister were widely shared on social media wherein Dr Manmohan Singh was seen on the hospital bed. 


While some netizens expressed sadness over the veteran leader’s vulnerable state, there were also those who questioned the photos.