Manmohan, Sonia pay last respects to R.K. Dhawan (Lead)

New Delhi : 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.