ERODE: Erode sitting MP A Ganeshamurthi was admitted to a private hospital in Coimbatore after he fell ill at home early on Sunday. His condition remains critical. When asked about reports about the senior MDMK leader attempting suicide, hospital authorities refused to comment.
It is alleged that Ganeshamurthi was depressed over the party’s refusal to give him a ticket to contest from the Erode seat. The leader of the alliance, DMK, has fielded its own candidate in Erode and has instead given the Tiruchy seat to the MDMK. Durai Vaiko, son of MDMK general secretary Vaiko, has been named the party’s Tiruchy candidate.
Later on Sunday, Durai Vaiko visited the private hospital on Avinashi Road where the MP is being treated. Speaking to reporters after meeting the family members of the MP, Durai Vaiko said the MP is critical and there will be clarity about his health condition only after 24 to 48 hours. “Doctors are treating him for heart-related ailments. He has been taken to the hospital at the right time. He is on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) support,” Durai Vaiko said.
Ganeshamurthi, a 77-year-old law graduate from the Kongu Velallar community, contested in 2019 on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol and won. His wife Balamani had passed away and he is living with his son Kapilan. He has a daughter. On Sunday morning, the MP allegedly took ill and his family members took him to a private hospital on Perundurai Road in Erode. MDMK and allied party workers gathered at the hospital.
‘MDMK MP depressed for over a week’
After some time, he was referred to a private hospital in Coimbatore where he is currently under treatment.
Police sources said, “He fell ill at home around 9.30 am on Sunday. His son brought him to the hospital.”
Though he was depressed for more than a week, he continued to participate in political events conducted by the DMK and allied parties in Erode, sources said.
When TNIE tried to reach G Jawahar, Erode SP, to ascertain whether he had attempted suicide, the police officer did not accept the call.
Speaking to TNIE, Housing and Urban Development Minister S Muthusamy said, “He had been ill for a few days. We don’t know if he attempted suicide.”
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu Health Department’s helpline 104 or Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050or the helpline 1800-121-203040 of N Damodaran Centenary Lifeline Number for Suicide Prevention under the name ‘Prana’.)