The last rites of former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj were held at the Dayanand crematorium on Lodhi Road in New Delhi yesterday with full state honours.
The 67-year-old veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader died on Tuesday night following a cardiac arrest. Her body was kept at the party headquarters in the heart of the capital for public to pay homage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, BJP stalwart L K Advani, federal Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah and senior leaders of other parties attended the funeral.
Earlier, amid heavy deployment of commandos, and hundreds of armed Delhi police personnel, Swaraj’s body was brought to the crematorium.
Her admirers were in tears as her mortal remains made their way from her residence to the BJP headquarters.
It was a short journey but scores of admirers who sprinted along with the vehicle transporting her body ahead of the last rites kept shouting slogans hailing the veteran politician – and frequently breaking down.
Many explained why they were drawn to Swaraj.
“She was one of the best MPs we had, a good orator and above all she was a human with a heart of gold,” Thirunavukkarusar, a Congress MP from Tamil Nadu, told IANS.
“She will be remembered as one of the tallest leaders in India,” he said.
Others spoke about her moral values and the skills.
“She was always present when the party needed her. She had values and she was affectionate to people,” said Raj Kumar Sharma, a BJP worker from Haryana’s Ballabgarh area.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said Swaraj was a woman of extraordinary gifts and gave Indian diplomacy a human face as she reached out to help citizens in distress.
In her condolence letter to Swaraj’s husband Swaraj Kaushal, Gandhi said: “I am shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden passing away of your beloved wife.”
Gandhi said Swaraj’s courage, determination, dedication and ability were manifest in every position she held.
“Above all, it was her warm personal qualities that brought a special lustre to her years in public and political life,” she said.
The death of Swaraj, a politician of many firsts, marks an end to a political era in Delhi, where she was the last of surviving former chief ministers after the death of Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit.
Swaraj became the first woman chief minister of Delhi in 1998, albeit for a short period. Her successor was Dikshit, who went on to occupy the post for 15 years and who passed away last month.
Swaraj and Dikshit were the only two women to rule the national capital. Both died of cardiac arrest.
Both were among the prominent women politicians in the country.
When Dikshit died on July 20, Swaraj had tweeted: “We were opponents in politics but friends in personal life.”
Madan Lal Khurana, a Jan Sangh and BJP stalwart who was the chief minister of Delhi, passed away in October 2018 after a prolonged illness.
Sahib Singh Verma, another BJP chief minister of Delhi, was already dead by then.
In her political career spanning over five decades, Swaraj got the credit of being the first on many counts.
She was the first full-time woman external affairs minister (2014-19). Former prime minister Indira Gandhi headed the ministry for a short span multiple times.
Swaraj was also the first woman Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha – between 2009 and 2014.
She entered politics when few women did so. She was not only the first woman spokesperson in the BJP but also in any national party.
She became the youngest cabinet minister in Haryana at age 25 in 1977.
Born to a father who was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Swaraj joined the BJP after the 1975-77 Emergency – and steadily rose in the ranks.