NEW DELHI, Aug 7 (PTI): At 7.23 pm Tuesday, shortly after Lok Sabha cleared the government’s decision to take away J&K’s special status and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories, Sushma Swaraj posted a congratulatory message on Twitter: “Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime.”
Hours later, the former External Affairs Minister, one of India’s most admired leaders, passed away. She was declared dead by doctors at the AIIMS in New Delhi. She was 67. She is survived by husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying her tribute. “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.”
BJP working president J P Nadda said Swaraj’s body will be kept at her home until 11 am Wednesday and will then be taken to the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg. The last rites will be performed at the Lodhi crematorium. Starting her political career under the Janata Party, Swaraj was elected to the Haryana assembly in 1977 and became a state minister at age 25. She was again elected to the assembly in 1987 when Devi Lal ousted the Congress from power that triggered an electoral cascade which eventually saw the Congress lose power at the Centre in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections.
She came into national limelight because of her ideologically fierce oratory in Lok Sabha, especially during the 1996 trust vote. Her political articulation, drawn from India’s mythological traditions, endeared her to the common man who could grasp her arguments. Her political career was a trail blazer for many a woman politician — she graduated from student politics to state politics to national politics and became an icon. Her rise within the BJP, considered a party of conservatives, was testimony to her political acumen, courage and mass appeal.
At the end of a long innings, she opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was left out of the new Cabinet. She remained politically senior to every important position-holder in the current BJP government. She was part of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 13-day government in 1996.  A disciplined party worker, Swaraj was politically combative, never hesitating to wage a good battle for the sake of the party. She displayed this when the party deputed her to Delhi as its first woman Chief Minister just ahead of the 1998 assembly elections. The sky-rocketing onion prices, however, put paid to BJP hopes in the state as the Congress won the elections and Sheila Dikshit replaced her, only to continue for the next 15 years.

But Swaraj did not lose heart and retained her political gumption. She jumped into the electoral fray against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, heading to Bellary in Karnataka during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. Though she was pitchforked by the BJP at the very last moment to contest against the Congress president, she learnt a smattering of Kannada to connect with the electorate in Bellary, forcing a keen contest. She lost narrowly (by a margin of less than 60,000 votes) to Sonia from Bellary, a seat held by the party since 1952 and considered safe by the Congress for its party president.
Groomed by party patriarch L K Advani as the next generation leader of the party, Swaraj worked under Prime Minister Vajpayee as Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and Health. Her crackdown against content being broadcast by FTV for the Indian audience created a flutter during her stint at the I&B. Though the move was frowned upon by a section of the industry, it burnished her image among the party’s traditional support base across the country.

Governor, CM lead state in mourning Sushma Swaraj’s death

ITANAGAR, Aug 7: Like the rest of the country, Arunachal Pradesh has deeply mourned the death of the former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who breathed her last on August 6 following a cardiac arrest.
Governor of the state Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retd.) has extended profound condolence on behalf of the people of the state, GoAP and himself to the husband of Late Sushma Swaraj, Swaraj Kaushal. In his condolence letter to the bereaved family, Governor said that in her death, the nation has lost an intellectual, a paragon Indian lady, a true patriot who was a popular and benevolent politician besides being a kind hearted minister and prolific speaker. Her distinguished record of being the youngest Cabinet Minister in Haryana politics bears a bright testimony to her calibre and dynamism, Governor said. Recalling his meetings with Sushma Swaraj on issues connected with the progress and development of the state, Governor added that her departure is a great loss to the country.
Expressing shock and sorrow over the untimely demise of Sushma Swaraj, Chief Minister of the state Pema Khandu in his condolence message said, “The news of the untimely demise of Late Sushma Swaraj, former External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader came as a shocker to me, who was a true daughter of the soil and amongst the most charismatic, influential and dedicated leaders ever produced by Indian polity. She ably proved her mettle in all her assignments as BJP worker and in important ministerial berths in state and union government as well. In her latest stint as the Union Minister for External Affairs, she had championed in portraying India as a powerful nation in the world.” In this most trying times for the bereaved family members, I along with my family, colleagues in the government and the people of Arunachal Pradesh extend our solidarity with you and may the Almighty bestow them strength to bear this irreparable loss and eternal peace to the departed soul, the message added.

Arunachal Pradesh Congress has expressed its deep sorrow over the sad demise of the former External Affairs Minister. In a press release issued today, APCC President Nabam Tuki remarked that India has indeed lost an outstanding personality and a prominent political leader. “We owe her a great deal of gratitude for all the monumental work she has done for India. My deepest condolences to her family and may her soul rest in peace,” the message read. PRO Raj Bhavan, CMO, APCC PR

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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