You left without fulfilling your 'promise': Smriti Irani laments Sushma Swaraj’s death

In a heartfelt message, Union Minister Smriti Irani lamented the demise of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. The BJP stalwart breathed her last at AIIMS yesterday night.

Taking to Twitter, Smriti Irani paid a touching tribute to Swaraj

I have an axe to grind with you Didi . You made Bansuri pick a restaurant to take me for a celebratory lunch. You left without fulfilling your promise to the two of us.

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) August 6, 2019

Irani pointed out that Swaraj was due to fulfil a ‘promise’ she made to her daughter Bansuri and Smriti. Irani recollects how Sushma had asked her daughter Bansuri, to pick a restaurant such that all three can go for a lunch. But the leader passed away before they could accomplish that.

Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night. She was 67. The senior BJP leader was brought to AIIMS around 9:30pm and was straight away taken to the emergency ward. AIIMS doctors said she died of a cardiac arrest.

Swaraj had a kidney transplant in 2016 and had opted out of contesting Lok Sabha polls earlier this year for health reasons. She is survived by her husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri.

Remembering Swaraj, PM Modi tweeted, “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.”

“I’m shocked to hear about the demise of Sushma Swaraj Ji, an extraordinary political leader, a gifted orator & an exceptional Parliamentarian, with friendships across party lines. My condolences to her family in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace.  Om Shanti,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter.

After PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony last month, Sushma Swaraj wrote an emotional message on Twitter, thanking PM Narendra Modi for giving her the opportunity to hold the office for five years.