Chennai, Oct 19 (IANS) Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president and former Union health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss returned home on Monday after undergoing minor knee surgery at Apollo Hospital on Greams Road in Chennai.
Doctors have advised him to undergo physiotherapy and take two weeks of rest.
A statement issued by the PMK said he had completed treatment and was recovering well after returning home.
The Hospital administration separately confirmed that the surgery had been successful and that Anbumani was recovering well. He had been experiencing persistent knee pain after actively participating in public meetings and party activities over the past few months.
He was subsequently admitted to the hospital, where he underwent the procedure. Physiotherapy and rest have been recommended to support his recovery.
The statements did not specify when he would resume public engagements.
The development comes with Anbumani now holding charge of the PMK following a prolonged power struggle with his father and party founder, Dr S Ramadoss. The dispute had divided the organisation into rival camps and brought differences over leadership, appointments and political strategy into the open. The father and son subsequently reconciled, meeting at Thailapuram in June. In July, S Ramadoss announced his retirement from active politics and said Anbumani would handle political affairs, marking a significant transition in the party founded by him in 1989.
Anbumani was unanimously elected president at the party’s general council meeting on July 29, consolidating his leadership after months of uncertainty over organisational control. He now leads the party through the next phase of its political activities.
A medical doctor by training, Anbumani served as Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare from 2004 to 2009 in the first United Progressive Alliance government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
His ministerial tenure brought him national prominence, particularly through public health initiatives, including the National Rural Health Mission and restrictions on smoking in public places. He also represented Dharmapuri in the Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019. His recovery will now require a temporary pause in the public schedule that preceded his hospitalisation.
The party’s statement focused on his successful treatment and the doctors’ advice for rehabilitation, while the hospital confirmed that his condition was improving following surgery. Anbumani will recuperate at home during the prescribed two-week period of rest.
–IANS
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