PM was distressed, asked me to visit Shripad Naik at Goa hospital: Rajnath Singh

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday visited the hospital in Goa where Union minister Shripad Naik is admitted following a road accident in Karnataka. Singh said that Naik’s condition is stable and doctors have said that he doesn't seem to be in any danger as of now, according to news agency ANI.

The defence minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to visit Naik at the Goa Medical College and Hospital. “I'd spoken to the Goa CM after the accident, PM had spoken to him too. The PM had then called me up and expressed distress. He then asked me to come here, I was thinking the same,” he told ANI.

He added that doctors have spoken to AIIMS Director (Delhi) and a team will come to Goa to consult with the doctors. “If needed, he might be taken to Delhi for treatment. It depends on the doctors here (Goa),” he said.

Naik (68), the Union Minister of State for Defence and AYUSH, underwent surgeries at the government-run hospital during the night, a senior official from the hospital told news agency PTI.

Naik was injured while his wife Vijaya and an aide died on Monday when their car met with the accident near Ankola in Uttar Kannada district, while they were returning to home state Goa from Dharmasthala in neighbouring Karnataka.

Naik, the BJP MP from North Goa, was shifted to the GMCH near Panaji late Monday night.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Monday night said Naik's condition was critical earlier, but now he is "stable". "A team of doctors led by Dean of GMCH Dr Shivanand Bandekar is treating him. We are giving him the best medical care," the chief minister said.

Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane had said another medical team was on a standby to ensure best treatment for Naik.

(With agency inputs)