Union Cabinet condoles Swaraj's demise

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday condoled the demise of former union minister Sushma Swaraj, describing her as an affable person with a humane touch who won the hearts of all by helping Indians in distress abroad.

Swaraj (67) passed away on August 6 at AIIMS following a cardiac arrest.

The Cabinet, which met this morning, adopted a resolution which said that Swaraj will always be remembered for her exceptional oratorial skills and a compassionate approach.

"She was an able administrator and an affable person with humane touch who won the hearts of all by helping Indians in distress abroad. For these qualities, she was declared as 'India's best loved politician' by the US daily 'Wall Street Journal' in 2017," it read.

The Cabinet placed on record its appreciation of Swaraj's services to the nation in different capacities.

"In her passing away, the country has lost a distinguished leader and an outstanding parliamentarian," the resolution read.

It recalled that the senior BJP leader entered public life at a young age and won election to the Haryana Assembly at the age of 25 in 1977 and became cabinet minister in the state government.

In 1990, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha and in 1996, as a member of the 11th Lok Sabha when she became the minister for Information and Broadcasting.

In October 1998, she became the first woman chief minister of Delhi.

In 2009, she was elected as a member of the 15th Lok Sabha and became Leader of Opposition from December, 2009 to May, 2014. In 2014, she was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha and served as minister for External Affairs from May, 2014 to May, 2019.