Sushma Swaraj passes away: Shatrughan Sinha calls it an irreplaceable loss, remembers her commitment towards the BJP

BJP's senior leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi after suffering a heart attack. Devastated with the untimely demise of one of his closest colleagues, BJP veteran LK Advani said that Sushma Swaraj was someone who he has known and worked with since the beginning of her illustrious innings in the party. 

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In his statement paying tribute to the prominent political figure, Congress leader and former MP Shatrughan Sinha said that he holds himself quite 'fortunate' to have worked with Sushma Swaraj and be a close family friend. Calling her a great orator that was loved across the country, he said, "She is irreplaceable in the eyes of the nation. I am extremely saddened and shocked. Neither was it her age nor was she suffering from a long term illness for this to happen to her". 

Speaking about her tweet just 1.5 hours before her death which read that she was waiting to see this day in her lifetime, Shatrughan Sinha said, "It will always be remembered. She was not only highly emotional but a true patriot.". 

Lauding the former EAM's commitment towards the Bharatiya Janata Party,  the Congress leader said, "There are some things that she has told me but never about the party, but when I told her about leaving, I was baffled by her response. All she said was, even if someone pulls me by the hair or kills me, I will not leave the party and I have a huge commitment towards this, and it is like my family" 

In a pathbreaking political career, she served as the Chief Minister of Delhi, and then, in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, as a union minister in multiple ministries.  In the Modi government, she was appointed as the External Affairs Minister - a portfolio she redefined owing to her hands-on approach wherein she would often respond to citizens'queries on Twitter. She declined to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

READ: Sushma Swaraj Passes Away: US Embassy Hails Former EAM's Work For Indo-US Bilateral Relations In Tribute

Sushma Swaraj is survived by her husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri.

Sushma Swaraj's Biography

Born in Ambala cantonment in what is now Haryana on February 14, 1954, Sushma Swaraj majored in Sanskrit and Political science at the Sanatan Dharma College in the Ambala Cantonment, before studying law at the Punjab University.She started practicing law as an advocate at the Supreme Court of India in 1973, and in the same decade, also joined the ABVP. She participated in Jayprakash Narayan's movement during the Emergency and subsequent to that joined the newly founded BJP.