Antony, Ravi among Congress leaders paying last respect to Pushkar

New Delhi: Union ministers, foreign diplomats and chief ministers were among the many VIPs who came to pay their last respects to Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor. Pushkar was found dead in her hotel room on Friday night. Pushkar’s body was brought to Tharoor’s residence on Lodhi Road in an ambulance from AIIMS at 2.40 pm. Tharoor, who was admitted to AIIMS after he had complained of chest pain early Saturday morning, was discharged in the afternoon and arrived in the ambulance with Pushkar’s body.[caption id=“attachment_1347323” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union Defence Minister AK Antony arrives to pay his last respects to Sunanda Puskar at the residence of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi on Saturday. PTI [/caption] The entrance to the official residence of the minister was swarmed with TV and print reporters and security personnel. Among the first to arrive was Defence Minister AK Anthony, followed by Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha PJ Kurien. The majority of MPs, ministers and Congress leaders that came to the residence were from Kerala, Tharoor’s home state. Tharoor is MP from Thiruvananthapuram. Among other prominent visitors were Union HRD Minister Pallam Raju and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. There was speculation toward evening that the prime minister was expected. But shortly before 5 pm, the mortuary van with the body and close relatives left the residence, followed by a stream of cars with relatives of Pushkar and Tharoor for the crematorium at Lodhi Road. The media was briefly allowed inside premises but was quickly asked to leave calling it a miscommunication. Barring few politicians from Kerala who made brief statements on their way out, no one from the family or friends of the family spoke to media.