Former Indian prime minister improving

NEW DELHI, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a former prime minister of India hospitalized in New Delhi with a respiratory infection, is showing signs of improvement, his doctor says.

Vajpayee, 84, was admitted to the hospital Wednesday and put on a ventilator Friday when his condition worsened, CNN reported.

"His condition is being monitored closely. All his key parameters, like

the blood pressure, the kidneys and the heart are stable," said D.K. Sharma, medical superintendent of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.

Vajpayee, a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, could remain hospitalized for another week, CNN reported Sunday.

Vajpayee served as India's prime minister briefly in 1996 and from March 1998 to May 2004.