Union minister Ananth Kumar’s office in Bengaluru has denied reports that he is suffering from cancer.
New Delhi: Union minister Ananth Kumar has returned to the country after undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment in the United States.
He had reportedly left for London about six weeks ago to seek treatment, before flying to the US. He returned to Bengaluru three days ago, sources in the government said.
The minister’s office in the Karnataka capital confirmed that he was back and resting.
He would have returned earlier, the sources said, but stayed back as his doctor mandated a check-up after 20 days.
The minister has reportedly decided to take rest for a few more days before returning to work
“The information I have got is that he is still recuperating and can take a few more days’ leave before joining work,” a source said. “So, no tentative time has been given for when he will be able to attend to his official obligations.”
Also read: Union minister Ananth Kumar undergoes surgery in US, may return next weekend
Unconfirmed illness
When Ananth Kumar flew out of India, media reports suggested he had been diagnosed with cancer. However, his office denied the “rumours”, and there’s been no confirmation yet about the exact nature of his ailment.
There has been no official statement from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the NDA government on the issue.
A BJP MP just said that Ananth Kumar had lost a lot of weight in recent times, adding that nobody had any inkling about his illness.
Kumar holds the chemicals and fertilizers as well as the parliamentary affairs portfolios.
Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed union power minister Piyush Goyal the additional charge of finance when Arun Jaitley was on leave for a kidney transplant, he chose to leave Ananth Kumar’s portfolios unattended for the duration of his absence.
Also read: These Indian politicians have beaten or succumbed to cancer
Reports of Ananth Kumar’s illness came just as his former ministerial colleague Manohar Parrikar, the Goa chief minister, was admitted to hospital for pancreatic cancer. Parrikar is back in Goa after treatment in the US and AIIMS in Delhi.