New Delhi:
Sources in the Congress party say Sonia Gandhi is expected to return to Delhi on August 30.
The UPA President has been in the US, where her party said she was recovering from surgery. The Congress said it would not confirm the nature of her medical problem. Different media reports said Mrs Gandhi was at the Sloane-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, though this was not confirmed by Congress spokespersons.
Mrs Gandhi's return has not been prompted by the crisis that has engulfed the government over Anna Hazare's hunger strike. The 74-year-old Gandhian has not eaten for eight days; his sit-in protest at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan has provoked frenetic support all over the country.
Mrs Gandhi's son, Rahul, who is Congress General Secretary met the Prime Minister for the second time this evening to discuss the government's strategy in handling Anna and his associates. Anna's demand is that his version of the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill must be passed by Parliament.
The PM has written to Anna today, urging him to end his fast. "Despite the differences between the Government and your team, I do not think that anybody is or should be in any doubt about the deep and abiding concern which I and our Government share about your health, "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 stressed, "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."