In Pics: ‘The People’s Minister’ Sushma Swaraj, Over the Years

Former foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday, 6 August, after a cardiac arrest.

In this 25 May 2017 file photo, Sushma Swaraj is seen with Uzma Ahmed as she gets emotional while uniting with her family during a press conference at Jawahar Bhawan in New Delhi.

(Photo: PTI)

The ‘People’s Leader’, as Sushma Swaraj was commonly referred to by well wishers, has left behind a legacy of being one of the most accessible ministers the country has ever seen.

Swaraj passed away on Tuesday, 6 August, after suffering from a cardiac arrest in Delhi. She had refrained from contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, citing health issues.

A look back at Swaraj from over the years shows how she was involved in bringing relief to scores of Indians in distress overseas.

Sushma Swaraj being sworn in as chief minister of Delhi by then Lt Governor Vijay Kapoor at New Delhi’s Raj Bhavan on 10 December 1998.

Sushma Swaraj, who was health and parliamentary affairs minister under PM Vajpayee’s government, and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi chatting during the unveiling of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji’s statue in New Delhi on 28 April 2003.

Then-PM Vajpayee being fed sweets by Sushma Swaraj, a member of his cabinet, during a BJP parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi on 23 December 2003.

Sushma Swaraj photographed during a dinner in New Delhi on 1 December 2003.

Then-chief minister of Delhi, Sushma Swaraj, is seen hugging former prime minister Chandrashekhar at a meeting of the National Committee to celebrate the centenary of Khalsa Panth in New Delhi on 11 May 1998.

Uzma Ahmed, an Indian citizen who was forcefully married off to a Pakistani man, was brought back to India by Swaraj in 2017. In this photo, clicked on 25 May 2017, Swaraj, who was external affairs minister then, looks on with a smile while Ahmed gets emotional while uniting with her family during a press conference at Jawahar Bhawan in New Delhi. 

Then-information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj with senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad at a Parliament House in New Delhi on 18 November 2002.

Then-external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj with Pakistani boy Mohammad Ramzan who was recovered from Bhopal railway station in Bhopal on 22 November 2015.

Then-external affairs minister Swaraj meeting family members of Indians, hailing from Punjab, stranded in Iraq. This was at the Jawahar Lal Bhavan in New Delhi on 7 February 2016.

(With PTI inputs)