PTI

New Delhi, Feb 7: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee continued to be on ventilation on Saturday, with his respiratory track infection remaining a cause of concern, doctors attending on him at AIIMS said.

"Vajpayee's condition is stable. His heart is stable but his lungs require support and that is why we are putting him on ventilation," Dr Sampath Kumar, head of Cardiac Thoracic Vascular Sciences of AIIMS, said.

"His respiratory track infection is the cause of his problem. But his liver, kidney, blood pressure are normal. It will take some time before he recovers fully," he said.

Kumar had on Friday, said that the BJP leader's respiratory track infection had worsened.

The 84-year-old leader was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday with complaints of fever and chest congestion. Doctors later found that he was suffering from pneumonia.

Vajpayee continues to be in the ICU where his progress is being monitored by a team of doctors.

BJP leaders L K Advani and Rajnath Singh had on Thursday called on Vajpayee. The BJP national executive, which was held on Friday in Nagpur, expressed concern over the condition of the party patriarch and prayed for his fast recovery.