Sonia Gandhi to return after a successful surgery

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to be back in the country by the end of this month after undergoing a surgery.

The UPA chairperson was in the US and has been recovering from a surgery, according to party sources.

There were several media reports that said Mrs Ghandhi was at a cancer hospital in New York, however there was no confirmation on this from the Congress party.

In her absence the core group consisting of congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, Janardan Dwivedi were given the charge to oversee the functioning of the party.

With the government finding itself cornered in a crisis over Anna Hazare's hunger strike, party sources told media that her presence and leadership is crucially missed in this juncture.

A desperate PM wrote to Anna seeking to end the dead lock between the government and the Anna team. In his letter he expressed his concern for Anna's health and also stressed the government's commitment to fight corruption.

Dr Manmohan Singh wrote, "I have no hesitation in saying that we need your views and actions in the service of the nation, from a robust physical condition and not in the context of frail or failing health.

The PM reiterated, "I have maintained that your and our object is identical viz. to reduce significantly, if not eliminate, the scourge of corruption from this country. At worst, our paths and methodologies may differ, though I do believe that even those differences have been exaggerated."

The Lokpal bill stand-off and the crisis that the government finds itself has attributed by experts to the absence of Sonia's leadership.

Mrs Ghandhi meanwhile has discharged from the hospital and is recuperating in a private facility in the locality according to government sources.

During her surgery she was accompanied by her son Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Vadra and son-in law Robert Vadra.

There are no details about the nature of the surgery. Her family issued a statement to the media asking it to keep restraint and respect her privacy.