PM Modi enquires about Sonia Gandhi's health, offers to send plane

Taking the battle to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's turf, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday led a massive roadshow in Varanasi kicking off the party's campaign for the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh where it is out of power for nearly three decades.

69-year-old Gandhi, however, had to cut short the roadshow towards the fag end of the eight-km march route on Tuesday evening after she fell ill as it wound through the streets of the temple town for nearly three hours.

PM Modi who had expressed concern earlier in the evening over her ill-health later in the day offered to send a plane for Sonia Gandhi to help her fly back to Delhi. 

PM Modi called up former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit  to enquire about Sonia's health and offered to help out by sending a doctor for a health check of Sonia Gandhi and a plane for transportation back to Delhi, said ANI quoting sources. 

Congress sources said Gandhi cancelled her planned visit to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the evening to offer prayers and was returning to Delhi. The sources said that Gandhi was suffering from viral fever but had decided to go ahead with the roadshow as she was not inclined to cancel it at the last minute.

It was later reported that her flight was delayed because she was being treated at Varanasi airport's VIP lounge.