Sushma Swaraj Funeral Highlights | Former Union Minister Cremated With Full State Honours; PM Modi, Advani Pay Last Respects
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NEW DELHI: Former External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night here at AIIMS. She was 67. Hospital said Sushma was brought to AIIMS at 10:20 pm and was straight away taken to the emergency ward. "Former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj has passed away. She suffered a cardiac arrest. Was administered CPR but did not respond," the hospital said in a statement. AIIMS doctors said she died of a cardiac arrest.
Several senior ministers, including Harsh Vardhan, Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani Prakash Javadekar, reached AIIMS after she was admitted to the hospital.
Swaraj had put out a tweet in the evening congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Centre's bold move to revoke special status for Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the border state into two Union Territories secured Parliament's approval.
"Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime," she said.
She is survived by her husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri. Swaraj had a kidney transplant in 2016.
Condoling her demise, Prime Minister Narendra said: "A glorious chapter in Indian politics comes to an end. India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and bettering lives of the poor."
Sushma Swaraj Ji was one of her kind, who was a source of inspiration for crores of people, Modi said.
Sushma Ji was a prolific orator and outstanding Parliamentarian. She was admired and revered across party lines.
She was uncompromising when it came to matters of ideology and interests of the BJP, whose growth she immensely contributed to.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2019
Prime Minister Modi, in his tweets, hailed Swaraj as a "prolific orator and outstanding parliamentarian" and said she was admired and revered across party lines.
"She was uncompromising when it came to matters of ideology and interests of the BJP, whose growth she immensely contributed to," Modi said. "An excellent administrator, Sushma Ji set high standards in every Ministry she handled. She played a key role in bettering India's ties with various nations. As a minister we also saw her compassionate side, helping fellow Indians who were in distress in any part of the world," he said.
The Congress condoled her demise. "We are saddened to hear about the untimely demise of Smt Sushma Swaraj. Our condolences to her family and loved ones," the party said.
"I'm shocked to hear about the demise of Sushma Swaraj Ji, an extraordinary political leader, a gifted orator & an exceptional Parliamentarian, with friendships across party lines. My condolences to her family in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace. Om Shanti," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter.
Sushma Swaraj, who was External Affairs Minister during the previous term of Modi government, did not contest the Lok Sabha elections this time, declaring that her health did not permit her to enter the fray and campaign.
During her tenure as the External Affairs Minister, she was very popular among the Indian diaspora and the compatriots stranded anywhere on earth.
Just one tweet tagging her about any problem any Indian faced anywhere and she would immediately swing into action and activate the Indian mission in those countries for help.
When the BJP was in Opposition during the UPA government from 2004 to 2014, Sushma Swaraj was the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a successful one.
She was first elected as a MP in 1990 and became a member of the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP brought her in as chief minister of Delhi in 1998 months before the assembly elections to shore up the party's fortunes. She remained in the post for about three months.
A lawyer by training, Sushma Swaraj went all the way to Bellary in Karnataka to challenge Sonia Gandhi in the 1999 Lok Sabha election. Though she lost, she gained in stature in the party and outside by her spirited campaign. The BJP was able to form its government in Karnataka ten years later, the party's first government in south India.
Sushma Swaraj was among the leaders considered prime ministerial candidates in the party before the 2014 Lok Sabha election. She was also not considered close to Modi in political circles and had apparently not batted for him in the way some of her other colleagues had done.
However, this did not diminish her standing in the party and she was virtually placed at number three in the cabinet, having taken oath of office after Modi and party president Rajnath Singh.
(ANI)
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