SUSHMA SWARAJ CREMATED WITH FULL STATE HONOURS
NEW DELHI: The last rites of former External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj were held at the Dayanand crematiorum on Lodhi Road here with full state honours.
The 67-year-old veteran BJP leader Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night following a cardiac arrest. Her body was kept at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in the heart of the capital for public to pay homage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, BJP stalwart L K Advani, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and senior leaders of other parties attended the funeral.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a “glorious period in Indian politics” had ended.
Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted: Sushma Swaraj Ji’s death is an irreparable loss to BJP and Indian politics.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, former Uttar Pradesh chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, were among those who condoled her death.
The demise of Sushma Swaraj, a politician of many firsts, marks an end to a political era in Delhi, where she was the last of surviving former chief ministers after the death of Sheila Dikshit.
Sushma Swaraj became the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi in 1998, albeit for a short period. Her successor was Sheila Dikshit, who went on to occupy the post for 15 long years and who passed away last month.
Sushma Swaraj and Dikshit (Congress) were the only two women to rule the national capital. Both died succumbed to cardiac arrest.
Both were among the prominent women politicians in the country.
In her political career spanning over five decades, Sushma Swaraj got the credit of being the first on many counts. She was the first full-time woman External Affairs Minister (2014-19).
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi headed the Ministry for a short span multiple times.
Sushma Swaraj was also the first woman Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha — between 2009 and 2014.
She entered politics when few women did so. She was not only the first woman spokesperson in the Bharatiya Janata Party but also in any national party.
She became the youngest Cabinet Minister in Haryana at age 25 in 1977.