New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was placed on a ventilator at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on Thursday after his health deteriorated, The Free Press Journal reported.
The 72-year-old leader, who was initially admitted to AIIMS' emergency ward on August 19 due to a lung infection, is reported to be in critical condition.
He was later moved to the ICU of the hospital's private ward and subsequently transferred to ventilator on Thursday as his condition worsened.
A team of senior doctors is closely monitoring Yechury's health.
Though the exact nature of his illness is not known, he may be down with infection similar to pneumonia.
The leader has recently undergone cataract surgery.
Sitaram Yechury, who has been at the forefront of several protests in the country, has begun his long stint in politics as a student leader.
In 1974, he joined the Students Federation of India (SFI) and became a CPI(M) member in 1975.
When he was a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Yechur was arrested and later released during Emergency.
Eventually he became the leader of the JNU Students’ Union.
He received the Best Parliamentarian Award in 2016 serving as a Rajya Sabha MP.