Shailaja admitted in hospital in critical condition

Former Deputy Prime Minister and senior Nepali Congress (NC) leader Shailaja Acharya has been admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharagunj on Wednesday afternoon after developing serious respiratory problems.

Doctors attending the 64-year-old veteran leader at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital say her condition is critical.

She had been suffering from multiple respiratory complications for quite some time, reports quoted family sources as saying.

The NC leader had returned from Bangkok only few months back where she had undergone a long treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Apparently, she had lost her memory and sense of being. Doctors at a reputed Bangkok hospital couldn't do much for her.

Acharya was among the few women leaders who made a remarkable contribution to reinstate democracy in the country in 1990.

However, her stand in favour of the King Gyanendra led royal regime back in 2005 eroded much of her democratic credentials both in the country and within her party.

Some time after the fall of the royal regime, Acharya, who is the aunt of popular Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, fell in deep depression and gradually her health failed her. nepalnews.com June 10 09