Vajpayee critical, on life support

The condition of ailing former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee "worsened" on Wednesday and he is on life support system. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been admitted for the last 9 weeks at AIIMS. Unfortunately, his condition has worsened over the last 24 hours. His condition is critical and he is on life support system," a medical bulletin said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited 93-year-old Vajpayee in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where its Director Randeep Guleria briefed him about the former prime minister's health.

Modi reached the hospital at around 7.15 pm and spent about 50 minutes there. Earlier in the evening, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani also visited the hospital to check on Vajpayee. There was no official update on the BJP stalwart's health condition.

Vajpayee has been ailing for the past few years. Earlier this month, Modi and top leaders like Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BJP chief Amit Shah and others had visited him.

Vajpayee, a diabetic with one functional kidney only, was admitted at the AIIMS on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion. He had suffered a stroke in 2009 and later developed dementia.