dxfdGqL 8f sf]O/fnf c:j:y g]kfnL sfFu|];sf dxfdGqL 8f zzfªs sf]O/fnfsf] :jf:Yo cj:yfaf/] hfgsf/L lng cf]d c:ktfndf a'waf/ ljxfg k'Ug'ePsf g]kfnL sfFu|]; ;efklt z]/axfb'/ b]pjf, jl/i7 g]tf /fdrGb| kf}8]nnufot g]tfx¿ . tl:a/ M /f]zg ;fksf]6f, /f;; Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and other leaders visit Om Hospital to know about Koirala's health condition. Photo: RSS

Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary Shashank Koirala – who was admitted to Om Hospital in Kathmandu following complaints of 'abdominal discomfort' and 'cough with shortness of breath' on Tuesday night – is 'critically ill', according to a statement issued by the hospital on Wednesday.

Koirala, 58, has been put on ventilator support and is being 'managed by a team of senior medical consultants', according to the statement. At a hastily held press conference on Wednesday, doctors involved in Koirala's treatment said that they have detected 'extensive pneumonia in the left lung'.

Prime Minister KP Oli and the main opposition party NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, among other leaders, relatives and well-wishers, rushed to Om Hospital on Wednesday to learn more about Koirala's health condition. Deuba proposed to airlift Koirala to New Delhi for further treatment, but doctors ruled out that possibility. They said Koirala is 'too ill to be flown out'.

Koirala, the youngest son of Nepal's iconic leader BP Koirala, had become NC General Secretary by defeating Arjun Narsing KC of the Deuba camp in the party's General Convention in March this year. Despite being junior to KC and not as charismatic as Gagan Thapa, another candidate vying for the post, Koirala had won the election by a comfortable margin, thanks to what political analysts believed to be his father's legacy.

Although his party voted for republicanism in 2008, Koirala has often said that 'abolishing monarchy was a mistake'. He has been criticised by many, some within his party, for being regressive in his views.