Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, world dignitaries pay tributes to Sushma Swaraj

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New Delhi: Condolences continued to pour in from world dignitaries for former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who breathed her last due to cardiac arrest on Tuesday night. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to Swaraj and extended sympathy to her family.

“She (Sushma) was a good friend of Bangladesh. With her death, Bangladesh has lost a good friend. Bangladesh will recall her contributions in taking the relationship between the two countries to a new height,” Hasina was quoted by bdnews24 as saying. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also expressed his condolences over Swaraj’s demise and recalled his “fruitful” discussions with her.

“My deepest condolences to the government and the people of India on the passing of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. I had many fruitful and useful discussions with her while she held office, and am saddened by her sudden passing. May she forever rest in peace,” he tweeted. Echoing similar sentiments, former Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon recalled Swaraj’s visit to Jerusalem in 2016 and said she was “impressively accessible” to the Indian diaspora.

“Saddened by the passing away of former #EAM @SushmaSwaraj ji. An #Indian leader who was always impressively accessible to all #Indian citizens worldwide. I will not forget her friendship to Israel In #Parliament & in #Government & her visit to #Jerusalem, 2016. She will be missed,” he wrote on Twitter. Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa expressed his condolences, addressing Swaraj as his “dear sister”.

“Indian leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who always called me “My Brother”, is not with us anymore. Rest In Peace “my dear sister”. India and Bahrain will miss you,” he tweeted. The Russian Foreign Ministry paid tributes to Swaraj saying, “We express our sincere condolences to the people of #India on the passing away of the former FM of this friendly country @SushmaSwaraj.” Swaraj was admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following a deterioration in her health.

According to sources at AIIMS, the 67-year-old BJP stalwart was feeling restless at 9 pm and reached the hospital at around 9:30 pm in an ambulance. A team of doctors tried to revive her for 70 to 80 minutes but failed in their attempt. Swaraj was declared dead at 10:50 pm. Swaraj was appointed the foreign minister in the first term of the Narendra Modi government in 2014. She opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing health reasons.

As the external affairs minister, Swaraj helped implement the foreign policy of the Modi government which witnessed an expansion in engagement with the Indian diaspora across the world. During her tenure, Swaraj had been active and popular on Twitter reaching out to the Indian diaspora in distress for assistance. She continued to remain active till her last breath and her last tweet came on Tuesday after the Parliament passed the bill to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir and a resolution to repeal Article 370. “Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime,” Swaraj tweeted hours before she passed away at AIIMS.