Off the wire
• Cypriot police find largest ever cocaine haul in generators shipped from S. America  • China Voice: Stay vigilant to Japan's "China Threat"  • China Focus: Rio Olympics orders send warning to Chinese exporters  • Zimbabwean, South African ministers meet over trade issues  • Kenya launches a strategy to eliminate rabies by 2030  • French police arrest Afghan refugee who may planned "imminent attack"  • France's trade gap widens to 3.4 bln euros in June  • China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to provide scholarships to 600 university students in Myanmar  • 1st LD: Syrian army kills 150 IS militants in Deir al-Zour  • Urgent: Preliminary contract signed for Chinese investors to buy AC Milan: Fininvest  
You are here: 　 Home

India's opposition leader Sonia Gandhi undergoes shoulder surgery

Xinhua, August 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

India's main opposition leader and president of Congress party Sonia Gandhi had undergone shoulder surgery at a hospital in New Delhi, officials said Friday.

Gandhi was operated upon at New Delhi's Ganga Ram Hospital on Wednesday night for dislocated shoulder and according to doctors was making "steady progress".

"Mrs Sonia Gandhi is making steady progress towards recovery from her illness. All her health parameters are showing improvement and she is soon going to be shifted out of the intensive care unit ICU," read a health bulletin issued by the hospital officials.

"She has also successfully undergone treatment for a shoulder injury by a team of shoulder experts comprising Dr Sanjay Desai from Mumbai and Dr Prateek Gupta from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. She is recovering well."

Reports said the surgery lasted for two hours and a half.

Gandhi had suffered a shoulder injury during a party roadshow on Tuesday in Varanasi, about 319 km southeast of Lucknow city, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

During the roadshow, Gandhi complained of uneasiness and cut short her program due to high fever. She returned to New Delhi in a chartered flight late Tuesday night and was taken to the Army's research and referral hospital for treatment. However later on she was referred to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Gandhi was in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi to launch party's campaign for local elections in the state scheduled to be held next year. Varanasi is the constituency of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During 2014 India's general elections Modi was elected from Varanasi.

Gandhi pulled a huge crowd mostly her party supporters throughout the day and switched several times between the SUV car and a closed Tata Safari vehicle. Eyewitness said thousands of people had gathered to watch Gandhi as her cavalcade of cars drove slowly through the streets of the city.

The Italian-born Gandhi is widow of slain former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. After his death, she entered politics and led the Congress party to two successive victories in 2004 and 2009 general elections. However, the Congress party lost power to Modi's rightwing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in 2014.

Media reports said the Congress party avoids giving information about Gandhi's health, despite her enormous influence. In 2011, she flew to the United States for a surgery. Since then she has been visiting the United States for regular checkups. Endit