Nation pays tribute to Sushma Swaraj on her first death anniversary

Guwahati: Sushma Swaraj, former external affairs minister and veteran BJP leader, died at the age of 67 on August 6, 2019 after suffering a cardiac attack. The country was left in a state of deep shock after her sudden death.

A year since her passing, tributes are pouring in on social media as the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, senior BJP leaders, and others across parties affectionately remembered Sushma Swaraj on her first death anniversary.

"Remembering Sushma Ji on her first Punya Tithi. Her untimely and unfortunate demise left many saddened. She served India selflessly and was an articulate voice for India at the world stage", PM Modi wrote in a tweet, paying homage to the departed BJP leader.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared a digital portrait of Sushma Swaraj on Twitter as a tribute and wrote, "Other than being a wonderful human being, extraordinary orator, fine Parliamentarian, and visionary leader, Late #SushmaSwaraj Ji will also be remembered fondly for setting a new benchmark in public service delivery & grievance redressal."

Sushma Swaraj was born on February 14, 1953, in Ambala Cantt, Haryana. Her father was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member. Swaraj began her political career with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in the 1970s. She was a former Supreme Court lawyer as well.

During her political career of over four decades, Sushma Swaraj had seen the firsts of many things in her time with the BJP. In 1977, at the age of 25, she became the youngest cabinet minister. She was also the first woman chief minister of Delhi. She was also the first minister to advocate 'digital diplomacy', which was evident with her prompt and round-the-clock presence on Twitter to help Indians abroad.

In 1996, during the thirteen-day government under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she took a radical step of live broadcasting of Lok Sabha debates as the union cabinet minister for Information and Broadcasting.

Swaraj held the crucial External Affairs Ministry in the previous Modi Cabinet. In 2016, Swaraj underwent a kidney transplant and had opted out of contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls citing health reasons.

Sushma Swaraj was a member of the Rajya Sabha for three terms and was elected to Lok Sabha four times. She earned respect for being an easily-accessible foreign minister and helped numerous Indians in trouble who reached out to her on social media.

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