NEW DELHI: Veteran Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande passed away in the national capital early Thursday morning. She was 79.

Deshpande, a Rajya Sabha member, was not keeping well for the past two-three days, and she died in her sleep early Thursday morning, Rajshree, one of her close associates told reporters.

"Deshpande had returned from Dhanbad on Tuesday and had some gastric problems. She was suffering from fever from last evening," she said.