Former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh is in a "very critical" condition and has slipped into a coma at New Delhi's Army Research and Referral Hospital where he was admitted early on Friday after a fall at his residence, the Union defence ministry said.
The 76-year-old former defence minister was rushed to the hospital by his family members after they found him lying on the floor of the house in an unconscious state at around 1am on Friday with an injury to his head, the ministry said in a release.
"At present the condition is very critical. He is on life support systems and under constant monitoring by a team of neurosurgeons and critical care providers," it said.
"Examination at the hospital showed him to be in coma, with signs of 'raised intracranial tension and a haematoma scalp'. Urgent CT scan of the head showed 'an acute subdural haematoma with mass effect, a midline shift and contusion of the brain substance'. A lifesaving 'decompressive hemicraniectomy' was done."
{{/usCountry}}"Examination at the hospital showed him to be in coma, with signs of 'raised intracranial tension and a haematoma scalp'. Urgent CT scan of the head showed 'an acute subdural haematoma with mass effect, a midline shift and contusion of the brain substance'. A lifesaving 'decompressive hemicraniectomy' was done."
{{/usCountry}}Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Singh's family and prayed for his speedy recovery. Senior BJP leader LK Advani and former party president Rajnath Singh visited him at the hospital.
Singh, who also served as the external affairs and finance minister, was expelled from the BJP earlier this year after he decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Barmer in Rajasthan as an Independent candidate when the party decided to field Colonel Sonaram Chaudhary.
Singh lost the election.
(With PTI inputs)