Pranab Mukherjee slowly responding to treatment, all his vital parameters stable, says his son

New Delhi, Aug 13: Former President Pranab Mukherjee is slowly responding to medical treatment and all his vital parameters are stable, his son and former MP Abhijit Mukherjee said on Thursday.

The former President was admitted to the Army''s Research and Referral Hospital here on August 10 and was operated upon for removal of a clot in the brain. He also tested positive for COVID-19.

Earlier in the day, the hospital said in a bulletin, "The condition of Shri Pranab Mukherjee remains unchanged this morning. He is deeply comatose with stable vital parameters and he continues to be on ventilatory support."

The former President''s son later tweeted, "My father is and has always been a fighter! He is slowly responding to medical interventions and all his vital parameters are stable. I urge upon every well wisher to pray for my father''s speedy recovery! We need them."

With rumours doing the rounds, Abhijit Mukherjee said, "My father Shri Pranab Mukherjee is still alive and haemodynamically stable."

"Speculations and fake news being circulated by reputed Journalists on social media clearly reflects that media in India has become a factory of fake news," he said on Twitter.

"My head hangs in shame when I see corporate media houses, few journalists and many social media users here in India resort to peddling fake news in a deliberate and desperate attempt to garner publicity. How cheap they are to make a living person dead at a stroke," he also tweeted.

The former president''s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee tweeted, "Rumours about my father are false. Request, especially to the media, not to call me as I need to keep my phone free for any updates from the hospital."

Pranab Mukherjee was the President of India from 2012 to 2017.