Shah, Doval, Rahul pay homage to Gen Rawat, wife

Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat, who were among the 13 killed in the military chopper accident in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

The mortal remains of General Rawat and his wife were kept at their official residence in New Delhi before cremation.

Outside General Rawat's residence, people raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'General Rawat amar rahe', and 'Uttarakhand ka heera amar rahe'.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and British High Commissioner to India Alexander Ellis was among the others who paid their last respects to General Rawat and his wife.

Former defence minister A K Antony, DMK MP Kanimozhi, Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar, BJP leader Baijayant Jay Panda, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Minister of State Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, also paid their respects to General Rawat and his wife.

"It's a terrible and an irreparable loss to the country at a crucial time," Antony said.

Paying his respects to General Rawat, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge described him as a 'good man'.

"It is a loss to the nation, he was a pride of the nation," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said after paying tributes.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also laid their wreaths.

As India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Rawat was tasked to bring in theatre command and jointness among the three services, and he was pushing it with a tough approach and specific timelines in the last two years.