Prez, PM pay last respects to Ram Vilas Paswan

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tributes to Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan at his residence on Friday.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including Amit Shah, J P Nadda, Giriraj Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajnath Singh, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Ramdas Athavale, Jitendra Kumar, also paid tributes to the departed leader.

Others who offered condolences and prayers at Paswan's residence included BJP MPs Pragya Thakur and Ramesh Bidhuri, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Misa Bharti and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

Paswan, one of the most prominent Dalit leaders of the country who had been a part of several governments headed by rival parties, died on Thursday at the age of 74.

The Lok Janshakti Party founder and minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution was admitted to a private hospital in New Delhi for several weeks and had recently undergone a heart operation.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet has been convened on Friday to express condolences over the minister's demise.

The Union home ministry has announced the national flag will fly at half mast in Delhi and capitals of all states and union territories on Friday as a mark of respect to Paswan.

A state funeral will also be accorded to the Union minister.

Paswan's body will be flown to the party's office in Patna in the afternoon and the cremation will take place there.