Koirala stable, set to attend granddaughter's wedding

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Koirala stable, set to attend granddaughter's wedding

Kathmandu, July 4 (IANS) Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who was hospitalised with respiratory complaints, was Tuesday stated to be in a stable condition and is now all set to attend his granddaughter's wedding.

The wedding preparations were halted Monday night when Koirala was admitted to a hospital with breathing problems but resumed Tuesday after doctors pronounced his condition stable.

The 84-year-old premier is take part Thursday in his granddaughter Melanie's marriage to Rubel Chaudhary, who hails from Bangladesh.

However, with doctors having advised him absolute rest for at least 48 hours, the duty to give away the bride may fall on Indian politician and family friend Surendra Mohan.

Koirala was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre here Monday evening and advised by doctors to remain there for at least 48 hours. He may be discharged Tuesday.

Delhi doctor G.N. Pandey of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was flown to assist in Koirala's treatment, Nepal's official media said.

Koirala, who was diagnosed by his personal physician Madhu Ghimire to have developed a slight pneumatic patch in his right lung, used to go to AIIMS regularly almost every year for check-ups.

Melanie, a 26-year-old telecom graduate doing her internship in London, is the daughter of Sujata Koirala, the prime minister's only child and a member of his Nepali Congress party.

Former Indian prime ministers Chandra Shekhar and H.D. Deve Gowda are also expected to attend the wedding as well as industrialists like Kamal Murarka.

Despite Koirala being a five-time prime minister of Nepal, the wedding is planned as a modest affair, comprising of a single night's dinner party at the five-star Everest Hotel and a small guest list of mostly family friends.

Palace sources said the royal family was not on the guest list. However, it was not known immediately if Melanie's cousin, Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, would be present.

Manisha and her father Prakash Koirala supported King Gyanendra's power takeover. Prakash Koirala, Koirala's nephew and a minister in the king's ousted cabinet, may be questioned by a commission set up to bring to justice the royalist ministers and officials responsible for suppressing anti-king protests in April.

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Koirala stable, set to attend granddaughter's wedding