Indians pray for prime minister's health

NEW DELHI, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was recovering after successful coronary bypass surgery Saturday that lasted more than 11 hours, one of his surgeons said.

"He is conscious, responding and is very stable. He would be more active now than before the five grafts," Dr. Ramakant Panda, a specialist flown in from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute to lead the surgery team, told reporters Saturday night.

Dr. K.S. Reddy, the prime minister's personal physician, said Singh was expected to be able to handle some official duties after two weeks of recovery and most of his responsibilities after four weeks, and then be fully active and functional by six weeks or even sooner, the Press Trust of India reported.

"He will be more active now," Reddy said, adding Singh would be in intensive care for three days and remain in the hospital for seven or eight.

Singh's supporters had flocked to Sikh temples in Delhi, Kolkata, Amritsar and Guwahati as he underwent the knife, PTI said. In Amritsar, Singh's brother, Surjit Singh Kohli, and other family members offered prayers for his health at the Golden Temple.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee was standing in for the prime minister while he is incapacitated, the news service said. Mukherjee "will look after the functioning of the government," an official statement said, and will represent the prime minister Monday at the Republic Day parade.