Shourie recovering in Pune hospital after fall

Former Union minister Arun Shourie, admitted to a hospital here after a fall, is recovering fast, a doctor attending to him said on Tuesday.

The 78-year-old former BJP MP is in the intensive care unit and under observation, he said.

Shourie was admitted to the private hospital late Sunday night after he fainted and fell down near his bungalow at Lavasa lake city, around 60 km from Pune, while taking a stroll.

He is recovering fast, communicating and having proper food, the doctor said.

"As it was a free fall, he sustained brain injury, including internal bleeding and swelling to the brain," he said.

"He is recovering fast and showing good signs of improvement. He is responding and communicating with us and taking proper food," said the hospital's neurosurgeon Sachin Gandhi, who is treating Shourie.

Gandhi said there is no fresh headache or neuro- deficit (abnormal function of a body area due to weaker function of the brain) and Shourie is responding to treatment.

"His overall health condition is good. He even performed yoga in his room in the presence of doctors," Gandhi said.

The journalist-turned-politician's family members are with him at the hospital.

Shourie, a former BJP Rajya Sabha member, was Union minister for communications, information technology and disinvestment in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government during 1999-2004.

A prolific writer and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, he also served as an economist with the World Bank during 1967- 1978.

Shourie was also the editor of 'The Indian Express' during his impressive innings in journalism.