Former union minister Sushma Swaraj passes away at 67

Former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, Pic courtesy: mid-day archives

New Delhi: Former Minister of External Affairs and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday passed away after suffering a heart attack, AIIMS sources said to ANI. She was 67.

The senior BJP leader was brought to AIIMS at 10:15 PM and was straight away taken to the emergency ward. She had a kidney transplant in 2016 and had opted out of contesting Lok Sabha polls earlier this year for health reasons.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had accompanied Swaraj in the hospital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to express his condolences.

PM Modi also said the India grieves demise of a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and bettering lives of the poor.

Earlier in the day, Swaraj had expressed delight over the passing of key bills pertaining to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same.

"Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime," Swaraj tweeted.

On Monday, Swaraj had said that the abrogation of the special provision is a true tribute to BJP ideologue Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who died fighting for "one nation, one flag".

"Many greetings to all the MPs of Rajya Sabha who helped pass the resolution ending Article 370 today and paid a true tribute to the sacrifice of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and fulfilled his dream of a united India," Swaraj had tweeted.

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 with 370 votes in favour and 70 against it. The lower house of parliament also passed the resolution revoking Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.

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