Paying homage to former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said she was like his sister, who always addressed him as anna [elder brother]”.
In the House, Mr. Naidu read out an obituary reference saying: “She was a regular at family and cultural events at my residence for a long time. Every year, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, she used to tie rakhi on my hand. I will be missing this honour this year... I have lost a valuable sister in her demise, which is an irreparable loss to me.”
‘Voice of people’
Mr. Naidu said in her untimely demise, the nation had lost an able administrator, an effective parliamentarian and a true voice of the people.
Ms. Swaraj was a member of the House for three terms between April 1990 and May 2009. She was elected four times to the Lok Sabha — in 1996, 1998, 2009 and 2014.
Mr. Naidu said she had had several firsts to her credit: she was the youngest Minister at the age of 25 in the Haryana government, the first woman Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the first woman “outstanding parliamentarian”, the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi and the first full-time woman External Affairs Minister.
‘Role model’
Stating that as a legislator and Union Minister, she remained committed and devoted to the cause of the people and country, he said that in her four decade-long stint in public life, she had emerged as a role model. She was grace, grit, affection, amiability and ability personified. She always dreamt of an India at its highest glory, he said.
“As a Minister of External Affairs, she gave a human touch to the Ministry by being in the forefront of rescuing Indians in distress in several parts of the world. She had come to be known as the most accessible Minister...,” he said, adding she was an orator, with command over Hindi and English.
Mr. Naidu mentioned her last message on Twitter, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of Article 370, stating that it showed her commitment to “one India, one Constitution”. The members observed silence as a mark of respect to the departed.
