Patna:

RJD president and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad was on Wednesday taken to Delhi for treatment at AIIMS, after being admitted to a hospital in Patna for a brief period, his son Tejashwi Yadav said on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters, Tejashwi Yadav said his father had developed sores on his back and an arm, which he hopes to get operated upon in Delhi.

“Lalu ji had reached the airport in the afternoon to board his flight for Delhi. My mother Rabri Devi was accompanying him. A sudden drop in blood pressure was noted following which we rushed him to the Paras Hospital,” the former deputy chief minister said.

According to Prakash Sinha, who led the team of doctors treating Lalu Prasad, “He was kept in the emergency ward where his condition improved after intravenous therapy. He wanted to know if he could go to Delhi in an air ambulance. We asked him to go ahead.” However, Tejashwi Yadav, who is now the Leader of the Opposition, said “my father is a man of courage. He chose to travel by a normal flight”.

The young leader, however, admitted that the family was concerned about the ailing septuagenarian, who has been a diabetic for many years, and has also undergone a heart surgery and a kidney transplant.

Once a garrulous politician known for an uncanny ability to connect with the masses, the 76-year-old has been largely keeping away from public gatherings.

Lalu Prasad was seen at a demonstration staged here last week by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board in protest against the Waqf Bill.

Convicted in several fodder scam cases, Lalu Prasad ended up spending a major part of his prison sentences in hospitals, until being released on bail a few years ago.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)