Bengal opposition leader undergoes pacemaker implant

Kolkata, Feb 10 (IANS Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal assembly Abdul Mannan, who was taken ill during a scuffle with the security staff in the house, underwent a permanent pacemaker implant at a private city hospital on Friday .

"Abdul Mannan underwent... dual chamber MRI compatible Permanent Pacemaker Implantation this morning," Apollo Gleneagles Hospital said in a medical bulletin.

"Post procedure, patient is stable and continues to remain in the ICU under observation," the bulletin added.

Earlier, a coronary angiogram was performed on Mannan to rule out any ischaemic complications.

Mannan was admitted to the G.D. Hospital and Diabetes Institute on Wednesday due to high blood pressure and a complete heart blockage after he was forcibly removed by the security staff following his suspension by Speaker Biman Banerjee.

The Congress leader underwent a temporary pacemaker implant on Wednesday evening and was shifted to Apollo Hospital the next day.

The state assembly witnessed tumultuous scenes on Wednesday as Mannan and other opposition legislators protested the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2017, brought by the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, which envisages stringent measures against destruction of public property.

The Speaker slapped a two-day suspension on Mannan for disobeying his order to remove aprons, placards and posters containing pictures of the vandalism in the assembly lobby on November 30, 2006, by then opposition Trinamool Congress members.

Defying the Speaker, Mannan staged a sit-in near the well of the House, prompting the Speaker to call the marshal and other security personnel to remove him. However, Mannan resisted and other Congress legislators also joined the scuffle.

--IANS

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