India's opposition leader Sonia Gansi's hospital stay extended

India's main opposition Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi's stay at a Delhi hospital has been extended as she is suffering from an infection and also running fever, doctors said on Thursday.

The 69-year-old fell ill during a political roadshow in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency in the northern holy city of Varanasi 10 days ago. She was admitted to the Army Hospital in the capital initially and then shifted to a leading private hospital.

Gandhi had undergone an operation on her left shoulder on Aug. 3, a day after being admitted to the private hospital with fever, dehydration and shoulder injury. She was supposed to be discharged Thursday after 10 days, but it has now been delayed.

"This morning, a team of doctors has examined Gandhi. They have advised her to remain in hospital on account of fever due to infection in the body. She is on antibiotics and is showing signs of improvement from the infection," D.S. Rana of the private hospital told reporters.

She is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who belonged to the Nehru-Gandhi family. After her husband's assassination in 1991, she was invited by Congress leaders to take over the government but she refused and publicly stayed away from politics.

Gandhi finally agreed to join politics in 1997 and a year later, she was elected president of the Congress party. She has also served as the chairperson of the opposition United Progressive Alliance in the lower house of the parliament since 2004. Endit