Manmohan, Sonia pay last respects to R.K. Dhawan
New Delhi, Aug 8 : Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders paid their last respects to former Union Minister R.K. Dhawan at the Congress headquarters on Wednesday.
Dhawan died on Monday evening in a hospital after a brief illness.
The mortal remains of the Congress leader, once a powerful aide and confidant of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, were brought to the AICC headquarters on Wednesday afternoon in a flower-bedecked vehicle.
Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also paid tributes to Dhawan.
Among the other leaders present were Ashok Gehlot, Ahmad Patel, Motilal Vora, P. Chidambaram, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Raj Babbar.
As Personal Secretary to Indira Gandhi, Rajinder Kumar Dhawan wielded enormous clout with his presence in the PMO and the household, especially during the Emergency, by keeping a hold on who got access to the Prime Minister.
Dhawan had been a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and a party general secretary.
He was a member of Rajya Sabha twice -- from April 1990 to April 1996, and July 2004 to July 2010.
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Remarks against St Francis Xavier: Right-wing speaker Gautam Khattar gets bail
Panaji (PTI): A court in Goa on Saturday granted bail to right-wing speaker Gautam Khattar, who was arrested after he allegedly made derogatory comments against St Francis Xavier.
Judicial Magistrate First Class, Vasco, granted regular bail to Khattar, currently admitted to Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim for treatment of chest pain after he was shifted from the District Hospital in Mapusa two days back.
A row erupted after a video of remarks by Khattar, the founder of Sanatan Mahasangh, at an event on April 18 in the presence of Swami Brahmeshanand, State Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho and BJP MLAs Sankulp Amonkar and Daji (Krishna) Salkar, went viral.
St Francis Xavier is revered as the patron saint of Goa.
The controversial remarks led to the Vasco Police registering an FIR against Khattar on charges of hurting religious sentiments and creating enmity between groups.
He was detained in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, by local police. His custody was later handed over to the Goa Crime Branch, according to officials.
