Sanjay Dutt undergoing preliminary treatment in Mumbai hospital: wife Maanayata
Mumbai: Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is undergoing "preliminary treatment" at the city's Kokilaben hospital, his wife Maanayata Dutt said, amid reports that the actor was battling lung cancer.
Dutt was on Tuesday seen leaving for the hospital with sister Priya.
"Prarthana karo (pray)," the 61-year-old actor had told the paparazzi standing outside his home on Tuesday.
Maanayata said on Tuesday that plans to take Dutt abroad for medical treatment will be taken later depending on the coronavirus situation.
"Sanju will complete his preliminary treatment in Mumbai. We will formulate further plans of travel depending on how and when the covid situation eases. As of now, Sanju is in the best hands of our esteemed doctors at Kokilaben hospital," Maanayata had said in a statement.
Without specifying the nature of his disease, she had said their family was "shaken up" but "determined to fight tooth and nail".
Dutt was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital on August 8 after he complained of breathlessness. After his discharge on August 10, the actor had tweeted about taking a "short break" from work owing to medical treatment.
As rumours swirled around the actor's health condition, Maanayata had requested well-wishers to avoid speculating about the "stage of his illness".
"I request everyone, with folded hands, to stop speculating the stage of his illness and let the doctors continue to do their work. We will update you all regularly with his progress," she had said.
Maanayata said she couldn't be by her husband's side at the hospital as she was under home quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic. She had returned from Dubai earlier this month.
She said Dutt's sister, Priya, has been "an incredible torchbearer."
"Every battle has a torchbearer and someone who holds the fort. Priya who has worked extensively over two decades with our family-run cancer foundation, and who has also seen her mother battle this illness, has been our incredible torchbearer, while I will hold the fort," she had said.
In the long statement, Maanayata, 42, had expressed gratitude to fans and hoped they would continue to love and support the family during these trying times.
"Sanju has been through many ups and downs in his life, but what has kept him going through every tough phase has always been your adulation and support.
"And for this, we will always be grateful. We are now being tested through yet another challenge, and I know, the same love and warmth will see him through this time as well," she had said.
She further said Dutt was the "heart and soul" of the family and all of them are determined to fight this battle and emerge winners.
"Sanju is not only my husband and father to our children, but he has also been a father figure to Anju (Namrata) and Priya.
"While our family is shaken up, we are determined to fight tooth and nail. With God and your prayers on our side, together we will overcome, and emerge as winners," she had said.
Dutt is the eldest child of late Bollywood stars Nargis and Sunil Dutt. He has two sisters -- Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt.
He has two children, a son and a daughter, with Maanayata. The actor also has a daughter Trishala Dutt from his first marriage to Richa Sharma. She died of brain tumour in 1996.
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BJP dreaming to win polls with money power: West Bengal BJP MLA after bypoll loss
Kolkata, Nov 23: As the ruling Trinamool Congress swept the by-elections in six assembly seats in West Bengal, Kurseong's party MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma attacked the state leadership, saying the party dreams of winning polls with money power and that it sidelines legislators and gives "unnecessary importance and responsibilities" to MPs.
The TMC retained five of the six seats it had previously won during the 2021 polls, while wresting the key Madarihat seat from the saffron camp in north Bengal’s Alipurduar district.
In a Facebook post, Sharma alleged, "The BJP runs a membership drive in West Bengal over the phone from a Kolkata office, while party leaders turn a blind eye to factionalism within the party. The party sidelines MLAs and gives unnecessary importance and responsibilities to MPs. It dreams of winning elections relying on money power. Despite having no shortage of political issues in the state, it centers its politics solely around religion."
"The BJP accuses opponents of corruption while carrying Adani and Ambani on its shoulders. It tries to undermine the rights of the indigenous population by luring Bangladeshi Hindus with promises of CAA. It halts MGNREGA funds and indulges in such tactics, hoping to win elections in the state," he alleged.
On the other hand, the BJP MLA lauded TMC saying, that the ruling party in the state, armed with 26 different "pro-poor schemes" such as Kanyashree Prakalpa, Gitanjali Housing Scheme, Krishak Bandhu Scheme, Nijo Griha Nijo Bhumi, Rupashree Prakalpa, Shishu Sathi Scheme, and Student Credit Card, quietly works at the grassroots level.
"Now, you decide who will win the elections. I have never seen a culture of self-criticism within the BJP; otherwise, this outcome wouldn't have occurred," he added.
Since the 2021 assembly elections, the TMC has won every by-election, except the Sagardighi bypoll in March 2023, which was won by a Congress candidate who later switched to the TMC.
With this victory, TMC's tally in the 294-member state assembly rose to 216, further consolidating its position. The BJP's tally, on the other hand, dropped to 69, from 77 in 2021.
