Sonia writes to Munde's wife; Rahul visits BJP HQ to pay tribute

Political differences blurred as Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote a personal letter to Union minister Gopinath Munde's family condoling his death and Rahul Gandhi visited the Bharatiya Janata Party office to pay respects to the departed leader.

"There are some events in life on which one has no control and one has to bear with them," said Sonia in a letter to Pradanya, wife of the senior BJP leader from Maharashtra.

Gandhi had lost her husband Rajiv Gandhi in a terrorist attack some 23 years back and her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984.

Paying tributes to Munde, she said that the backward class leader tried to discharge the responsibilities given to him in his political and social life with full dedication.

"Hailing from a humble background, Munde made a mark in social and political life by the dint of his hard work, polite behaviour and commitment towards the backward classes, which is a source of inspiration for all," she said.

Noting that the tragedy has brought unbearable pain to the family, Gandhi said that she is with them in this hour of grief.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi visited the 11 Ashoka Road office of BJP to pay respect to the departed leader. This is perhaps for the first time in last many years that any Gandhi family member visited the BJP office.

Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

Congress and BJP had fought a bitter political battle in this Lok Sabha polls, which was marked by personal attacks from both sides.

Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav also visited the BJP office in the afternoon to pay tributes to Munde.

Yadav, whose party had last year walked out of NDA snapping its 17-year-old ties with BJP, also wrote a letter to Munde's wife and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to her and the bereaved family.

Munde, Union rural development minister and a popular backward class leader from Maharashtra, died on Tuesday after his liver ruptured and he suffered a cardiac arrest following a road accident this morning.

Yadav said that Munde was a mass and dynamic leader who achieved heights in his political career from grass root level.

"Hailing from a backward family, he served the people of this country tirelessly," he said.

The JD-U leader told Munde's wife that his passing away is not only a personal loss to her and her family, but it is a great loss to the nation as a whole as he was one of the tallest leaders in the country.

Image: Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to Gopinath Munde, at BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday

Photograph: PTI Photo