Former External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, 67, who was admitted to AIIMS at 10.15 pm on Tuesday after a massive cardiac arrest in the evening, passed away late at night, hospital sources said.
The senior BJP leader, who was straight away taken to the emergency ward, had a kidney transplant in 2016 and had opted out of contesting the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year on health reasons.
Sushma is survived by her husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri.
Sushma’s husband Swaraj Kaushal and other family members, along with Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan and other Ministers Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi and Nitin Gadkari reached AIIMS after she was admitted there.
At the age of 25, she was the youngest Cabinet Minister to join the Haryana Government in 1977 and the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi. Sushma was a prolific orator and outstanding parliamentarian, she was admired and revered across party lines.
With 13.1 million followers on Twitter, Sushma was one of the world’s most popular woman political leaders on social media. She was known for her prompt responses to people’s problems, especially of Indians living abroad.
She also took action on other problems such as issues with getting passport reported by people on social media. Many social media users termed her a mother figure.
“Mam hav such a face which 80% people can relate to with their mother’s She was like a mother figure, always smiling, amazing positive aura, best orator, when she spoke, everyone listened. #SushmaSwaraj ji you are amar,” wrote one user.
Moments after the news of her sad demise, reactions poured in from across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the demise of the former Union Minister, saying a glorious chapter in Indian politics had come to an end.
“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.
Outgoing Congress president Rahul Gandhi condoled the death of Sushma saying she was an extraordinary political leader and great orator with friendship across party lines.
“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,” Rahul tweeted.
Just a few hours before her death, Sushma had put out a tweet in the evening congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Centre’s move to revoke special status for Jammu & Kashmir and bifurcate the border State into two Union Territories secured Parliament’s approval.
“Narendra Modi ji, thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime,” she had said.