Sushma Swaraj, former Indian foreign minister and one of the BJP’s most loved leaders, died on Tuesday evening after a cardiac arrest.
Her death shocked the nation where millions adored her for her swift response to distress calls on Twitter from Indians in any corner of the world. Describing her death as a “personal loss”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a “glorious chapter in Indian politics has come to an end”.
Ms Swaraj was rushed to Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences by her family sometime after 9 pm when she was taken ill, NDTV reported.
Despite the late hour, a number of her party colleagues and ministers reached the hospital. Among the first to arrive were Nitin Gadkari, Dr Harshvardhan, Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani.
The 67-year-old, who had a kidney transplant three years ago, had not been keeping well lately. Due to health reasons, she had not contested the recently held Lok Sabha election held earlier this year and opted out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new government.
Hours before her death, Ms Swaraj had tweeted congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation bill in parliament. “She was happy about Article 370’s abrogation, I read her tweet when I got back home,” Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
“India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader,” said PM Modi on Twitter. “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.
As the foreign minister, Ms Swaraj’s interventions ranged from seeking information on relatives stranded in avalanches in other countries to families who needed help in bringing home a relative’s body from abroad and even foreign nationals seeking urgent medical visa for treatment in India.
Her kindness, warmth and mellow humour had touched many and Twitter was flooded with messages of thanks and good wishes when it became clear that she would not be part of PM Modi’s government in its second term.
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.
She was uncompromising when it came to matters of ideology and interests of the BJP, whose growth she immensely contributed to.
In his message, President Ram Nath Kovind said Ms Swaraj “epitomised dignity, courage & integrity in public life”. “Ever willing to help others, she will always be remembered for her service to the people of India,” his tweet read.
Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee described her as an “astute parliamentarian, an effective orator & an excellent humane leader”. “Hers was a story of hard work to heights,” his tweet read.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also mourned her death.
