Indian PM to have heart bypass
India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh will undergo heart bypass surgery in the next 24 hours after doctors discovered blocked arteries.
Mr Singh’s spokeswoman Deepak Sandhu says the 76-year-old leader will be admitted to a New Delhi hospital today and have the surgery tomorrow.
Mr Singh underwent tests earlier in the week after complaining of chest pains.
Mr Singh, the country’s first prime minister from the Sikh faith, had bypass surgery in England in 2000 and an another heart procedure in 2004.
A decision on whether to temporarily hand power to another government official would be taken later today, said Mr Sandhu.
Mr Singh has been prime minister since 2004. He had been expected to again be the Congress party’s candidate for prime minister in elections that will be held before May. It was not immediately clear if his medical problems would affect those plans.
