Telangana CM expresses grief at Sushma Swaraj’s demise

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday expressed grief at the demise of former Union minister Sushma Swaraj. He praised her services to the nation in different capacities, a release from the Chief Minister’s Office said.

Rao conveyed his condolences to bereaved family members, it said. A senior BJP leader, Swaraj passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Tuesday night. She was 67. AIIMS doctors said she died of a cardiac arrest.  

"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," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a series of tweets.

Several senior ministers, including Harsh Vardhan, Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani Prakash Javadekar, reached AIIMS after she was admitted to the hospital.

Swaraj had put out a tweet in the evening congratulating Prime Modi after the Centre's move to revoke special status for Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the border state into two Union Territories secured Parliament's approval.

"Narendra Modi ji - Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime," she had said.