THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leaders in the state have approached the party’s national leadership seeking its intervention to ensure follow-up medical treatment for veteran leader Oommen Chandy. The longest-serving legislator in Kerala history, Chandy was slated to undergo follow-up treatment at a private hospital in Bengaluru. However, he discontinued the treatment allegedly due to his family’s leanings towards ‘faith healing’.
Party workers from Puthuppally contemplate holding an indefinite protest before the Gandhi statue in Kottayam if timely medical intervention is denied. Chandy’s last public appearance was at senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala’s younger son’s marriage last Saturday. The guests here were aghast to see a frail Oommen Chandy.
It was due to the intervention of Rahul Gandhi that the 79-year-old was taken to Germany for treatment in early November. The follow-up treatment was arranged at a Bengaluru hospital. But this was discontinued. Dr U S Vishal Rao, a leading surgical oncologist in Bengaluru who has been treating Oommen Chandy, has come out with a four-page case summary. TNIE has got a copy of the same. It urges the need for immediate further treatment.
Oommen Chandy’s close aides and party workers in Puthupally alleged that due to faith healing, Chandy’s family was also reluctant to take Covid vaccine, which deteriorated his health. A family source told TNIE that Chandy would have been completely cured if timely treatment had been given.
“Oommen Chandy has undergone various alternative medicine treatments ranging from Sidha/Naturopathy and Ayurveda over the last several years. We are not against these treatments, provided he gets relief. Faith healing and prayers are not going to help him, and the need of the hour is to continue his treatment on a war footing,” said a visibly upset family source.
It is reliably learnt that the national Congress leadership is waiting for the arrival of his son, Chandy Oommen from Srinagar, who was part of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, to decide on the next course of action.