Congress pays tributes to Sushma Swaraj

The Congress party condoled the death of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

"We are saddened to hear about the untimely demise of Smt Sushma Swaraj. Our condolences to her family and loved ones," Congress tweeted from its official Twitter handle.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Gulab Nabi Azad said he knew Swaraj for the last 42 years and had good relations with her.

"We're shocked, we never imagined that she'll leave us so soon. I knew her since 1977 when I was in youth Congress, we knew each other for the last 42 years. We never called each other by name, she used to call me brother 'bhai' and I used to call her sister," he said.

Taking to Twitter, Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Shashi Tharoor also expressed condolences.

"Shocked to learn about the passing away of Sushma ji. She was a warm-hearted person, a passionate leader, an excellent orator and a true stateswoman. Her demise has left the country with an irreparable vaccum, it marks the end of an era," Patel tweeted.

Tharoor tweeted, "Shocked & saddened by this news. I last saw Sushmaji at @PMOIndia's swearing-in two months ago. She was a brilliant speaker in Hindi, a genuine "people's person" in Government & I was proud of our excellent relationship when I chaired the External Affairs Committee. Om Shanti."

Swaraj was admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following a deterioration in her health.

According to sources at AIIMS Delhi, she was feeling restless at 9 pm and reached the hospital 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. Later, Swaraj was declared dead at 10:50 pm.

Swaraj was appointed the foreign minister in the first term of Modi government in 2014. She opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing health reasons.