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Congressmen finally give the rebel his due

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Several senior Congress leaders Tuesday admitted that in the death of rebel leader Jitendra Prasad, the party had lost a valuable asset.

Prasad, who had faced the party's wrath after he challenged Sonia Gandhi's leadership in November last year, died on Tuesday after being in coma for almost a week.

Most leaders said Prasada's death had robbed the party of a "task master."

It was a "real loss" for the struggling, confused and frustrated Congress party, almost all of them said, while pointing out that a senior rebel within was "good to keep a balance in the party power equation."

Senior Congress leaders began to pour into Apollo Hospital within minutes of Prasada's death at 12.15 pm.

From Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna, a large number of them called on the departed leader's family.

Sonia rushed into the hospital and left in 10 minutes without speaking to the media. She offered all assistance to Prasada's family, while requesting them to allow the body to be laid at the All India Congress Committee office on Akbar road on Wednesday morning for darshan.

Ramesh Sharma, former Congress spokesman said the body would be kept at the party headquarters for followers to pay respects between 10 am and 11 am.

The veteran Congress leader will begin his last journey home shortly after 11 am and will pass through Ghaziabad, Hapor and Rampur, to reach Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Senior Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Sree Prakash Jaiswal was forthright in the hour of grief admitting that "he [Prasada] was one of our best bets in UP, and his death would have an adverse impact on our state unit."

Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna said after the end of the party elections, the Congress leaders were "overjoyed" over Prasada's return to the party's main-fold.

Krishna said the period of Prasada's dissidence was a "sordid period."

Prasada and Krishna have known each other since 1971, when both of them were members of the Lok Sabha. "He was a charming person," Krishna said. "His return to the party fold was short-circuited by his untimely death," he said.

Mohsina Kidwai said Prasada was a "honest Congress leader", and his death was a "loss to the nation, not just to the party."

Among other senior Congress leaders who came to the hospital were Ambika Soni, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Jairam Ramesh, Anand Sharma, Pramod Tiwari and Motilal Vora.

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