Delhi government has declared a two-day state mourning as a mark of respect to Sushma Swaraj, former External Affairs Minister, who passed away on Tuesday night.
The body of the deceased leader will be kept at her residence till 11 am, after which her mortal remains will be taken to the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg for three hours. Party workers and other leaders would pay their tributes before the cremation process takes place at Lodhi crematorium. She will be cremated with state honours. Her funeral will take place today evening.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, former Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief Mayawati, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy visited Swaraj’s residence on Wednesday morning to pay last tributes among others.
Swaraj, who had last tweeted at 7.20 pm on Tuesday, suffered heart attack late in the evening. Her last tweet:
प्रधान मंत्री जी – आपका हार्दिक अभिनन्दन. मैं अपने जीवन में इस दिन को देखने की प्रतीक्षा कर रही थी. @narendramodi ji – Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 6, 2019
She was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. A team of doctors attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive her, but she succumbed to the cardiac arrest.
Union ministers such as Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Smriti Irani, Harsh Vardhan, Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh Pokhriyal were among those who visited the hospital last night.
Tributes started pouring in from leaders across India upon the announcement of Swaraj’s demise.
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.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2019
Extremely shocked to hear of the passing of Smt Sushma Swaraj. The country has lost a much loved leader who epitomised dignity, courage & integrity in public life. Ever willing to help others, she will always be remembered for her service to the people of India #PresidentKovind
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 6, 2019
पूर्व विदेश मंत्री और भाजपा की वरिष्ठ नेता व संसदीय बोर्ड की सदस्य श्रीमती सुषमा स्वराज जी के आकस्मिक निधन से मन अत्यंत दुखी है।
उन्होंने एक प्रखर वक्ता, एक आदर्श कार्यकर्ता, लोकप्रिय जनप्रतिनिधि व एक कर्मठ मंत्री जैसे विभिन्न रूपों में भारतीय राजनीति में अपनी अमिट छाप छोड़ी है।
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 6, 2019
Swaraj was the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi and was the first full-time woman Foreign Minister of India. She was 67 at the time of her demise.