Sonia Gandhi leaves for US for medical check-up

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, on Monday, left for the US for her regular medical check up and is expected to be back in eight days.

Accompanied by her daughter Priyanka, she left this afternoon. Her son and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi is staying back.

Party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said that Gandhi had gone for regular check up that happens after every six months.

He said that her check up was due since her last visit abroad in September 2012 but it was delayed due to pressing engagements.

"It was overdue. It has to be done after her last check up in September last year. She left this afternoon and will be back in a week or eight days," Dwivedi said.

66-year-old Gandhi, who had undergone a surgery in the US for an undisclosed ailment on August 5, 2011, had flown there for a check-up in February and again on September last year.

The Congress President was admitted to AIIMS last Monday after she complained of chest pain and exhaustion in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on Food Security Bill when it was in the last stages of adoption.

She was discharged from the hospital after she spent five hours undergoing various tests. Gandhi, who had cough and headache, had felt uneasy in Parliament after taking medicines.

Sources in the party, however, denied any link between her visit to AIIMS and her check-up abroad.

"This is a regular six-monthly check-up and has nothing to do with that," a party leader said about her admission in AIIMS last week.

"She was perfectly fine when she was was released after some tests in the AIIMS," the leader said.