Congress president Sonia Gandhi described sports minister Sunil Dutt who died Wednesday as a "good friend" of the family and had stood by it even at the worst of times.

Striking a personal note, Gandhi recalled that the actor-turned-politician was constantly at her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi's side even when she was not in power.

"It was in 1977. My mother-in-law was not the prime minister and was being harassed all around. Sunil Dutt stood by her side," an emotionally charged Gandhi told a TV news channel.

"He was a good friend of the family. He was a good friend of ours," Gandhi added.

Dutt, Gandhi said, was in the forefront in solving people's problems.

"He had a rare quality. Wherever there was problem, he was there first," Gandhi said.

"He was truly secular. All his life he stood for secularism," Gandhi added.