New Delhi: Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s wife Seema Sisodia, who is suffering from an autoimmune disorder, was admitted to a private hospital here on Tuesday, sources said.
Seema Sisodia, 49, was admitted to the neurology department of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital and her investigations are being done, they said.
“She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a severe autoimmune disease, in 2000. She has been undergoing treatment for the same at a private hospital for the past 23 years. It is generally agreed that the disease’s impact is accelerated with time and with other factors such as increased physical and emotional stress,” a source said.
As a result of her condition, Seema Sisodia is currently showing symptoms that include reduced mobility, loss of balance with increased risk of falls, as well as bowel and bladder control problems, the sources said.
The ailment eventually leads to loss of muscle control, slowly taking away the patient’s ability to move, walk or talk.
According to the sources, the doctors at the hospital said that considering her physical condition, she needs regular physiotherapy and medicines to reduce the symptoms and effects of the disease as she is having a lot of difficulty in walking or sitting.
She also needs regular tests and treatment, they said.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief spokesperson and Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Manish ji’s wife is suffering from a rare and serious ailment. One in a million is affected by this. In this disease, the brain loses control of body parts. The patient grows dependent.”
Bharadwaj said he came to know about Seema Sisodia’s hospitalisation through media.
“We hope she recovers. She was hospitalised a few years back for a long time. At that time, the ailment was not revealed. The BJP had even done a press conference saying that Sisodia ji had taken a huge amount of money for mediclaim,” he said.
The AAP leader rued that there was no family member by her side.
“I think party members must be with her. The disease is quite unpredictable and the patient needs emotional support too. Manish ji is not there and her son is abroad,” he said.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease that causes the immune system to attack the protective covering of nerve fibers, resulting in communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. It has been recognized as a disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act since 2016.
Manish Sisodia, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with the Delhi excise police case, had also sought bail from the court on earlier occasions citing his wife’s ill health and his son being abroad. A court is expected to deliver an order on his bail plea on April 26.
“The court should consider the situation,” Bharadwaj said.
After the AAP leader was arrested in February, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann visited Sisodia’s residence to meet his wife and assured her of all support.
Seema Sisodia is “suffering from a very serious disease”, Kejriwal had said, adding “Manish used to take care of her”. He had said Sisodia’s son was abroad for studies.
PTI