Sonia's first appearance after surgery

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday made her first public appearance after her return from abroad following surgery for an undisclosed aliment on August 4.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday made her first public appearance after her return from abroad following surgery for an undisclosed aliment on August 4.

Gandhi, 64, attended a prayer meeting at Rajghat to mark the 142nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

She also visited Vijay Ghat to pay tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 107th birth anniversary.

Though the Congress president had returned home on September 8 after the operation, she resumed her normal functions formally on September 15 by chairing a meeting to finalise a list of candidates for next year's assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Since then, she has been regularly meeting people and even called on President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar.

Her public appearance on Sunday has now put at rest all speculations about her health condition.

Gandhi was at the Raj Ghat for about 15 minutes, listening to some devotional songs. The Prime Minister and senior BJP leader LK Advani also paid tributes to the father of the nation.

Later, Gandhi went to Parliament House to pay tributes at the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Shastri.