BJP veteran leader Sushma Swaraj dead
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 6
Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night. She was rushed to AIIMS with cardiac complications. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described her demise as the end of a glorious chapter in India’s politics.
“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,” he tweeted.
Swaraj was in Parliament this morning to witness the Lok Sabha debate on the historic move to abrogate Article 370. Later in the day, she had tweeted to congratulate the PM for scrapping Article 370. “Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime,” read Swaraj’s last tweet, tagging the PM after Parliament repealed Article 370 and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir.
At Parliament House today, she had looked hale and hearty. The PM hailed Swaraj as 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. 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.”
BJP chief Amit Shah, party working chief JP Nadda, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed shock at her death. Swaraj was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 1990 and served three terms.
She was a member of the 11th, 12th, 15th and 16th Lok Sabha but opted out of the 2019 General Election for health reasons. Her stellar performance as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha in 2009-2014 laid the foundations for Modi’s sweeping victory in 2014, many believe.
She and Arun Jaitley, then leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, together articulated the anti-corruption sentiment against the Congress-led UPA, which was decimated in the 2014 polls. Swaraj, who briefly served as Delhi CM, is survived by her husband and a daughter.
Narendra Modi ji, thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime Swaraj’s tweet on revocation of Art 370, hours before her death—Swaraj’s tweet on revocation of Art 370, hours before her death
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. — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
