Union Minister Ananth Kumar seriously ill, in London for treatment; reports

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals, Ananth Kumar (59), is reportedly undergoing treatment in London for pancreatic cancer, a report published by The Wire has stated.

Kumar has now been in London for two weeks and he may even be shifted to the United States for further specialised treatment, said the report quoting sources. “Kumar has not been attending office or signing files in recent weeks. Prime Minister Modi has yet to formally reallocate his portfolio,” the report maintained.

It added that the government’s silence over Kumar’s illness is a replay of how it handled the deterioration in the health of finance minister Arun Jaitley and Goa Chief Minister and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

In the case of Ananth Kumar, there is also uncertainty over whether he will be able to handle the winter session of parliament, the report claimed.

The five-time MP who also served in the earlier BJP-led NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, according to a report in the Times of India, had a serious coughing illness prior to the assembly elections in Karnataka and was advised to undergo treatment soon after the polls.

The report further said that his treatment got delayed due to the Jayanagar constituency bypoll, followed by the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in July. Kumar is said to have received permission from PM Modi and have flown to London two weeks ago for the treatment.

“The minister is in London at the home of his cousins and is scheduled to return within a week,” Kumar’s office in Bengaluru told ToI, adding that “it is only rumours about him suffering from cancer.”