NEW DELHI, India – Veteran Indian politician Sushma Swaraj, 67, passed away in New Delhi late Tuesday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to a hospital statement.
A senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Swaraj was the country’s foreign minister from 2014 to 2019, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term in office, CNN reported.
She was the second woman to hold the office in India’s history.
“A glorious chapter in Indian politics comes to an end,” Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet.
“India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and bettering lives of the poor. Sushma Swaraj Ji was one of her kind, who was a source of inspiration for crores of people,” he added.
A glorious chapter in Indian politics comes to an end. India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and bettering lives of the poor. Sushma Swaraj Ji was one of her kind, who was a source of inspiration for crores of people.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2019
Swaraj’s body is scheduled to be taken to the party’s headquarters in the national capital for the public to pay final respect, which will be followed by the cremation and a final prayer ceremony.
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