February 22 is the estimated target date for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resume his normal official duties his heart surgery. According to a senior government source, all the PM’s engagements till that date have been cancelled or deferred. These include incoming VIP visits and his own travels outside Delhi. Scheduled visits by President Cristina Fernandez of Argentina, Prime Minister Kevin Michael Rudd of Australia and Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden have been postponed.
Senior ministers have been asked to cancel their foreign tours. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P Chidambaram and defence minister A K Antony, will remain in the country. Congress leaders feel that once he is back home after the surgery, possibly a week from now, the PM may start attending to his files and meeting people. But he is unlikely to attend the February session of Parliament, during which a vote-on-account will be passed to make way for an April-May general election.