On the 70th birthday of former minister and BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an interesting anecdote. The former foreign minister passed away on August 6, 2019, just two months after the BJP won a second term in office.
PM Modi paid respect to the late politician in a Facebook post made on his way back from Jalandhar, Punjab, where he spoke at an election rally, recalling Sushma Swaraj’s visit to his village in Gujarat.
“It was roughly 25 years ago,” he said, “when I was working as an organiser for the BJP and Sushma ji was on an election trip in Gujarat.”
“She visited Vadnagar, my hometown, and met my mother. My nephew had just given birth to a girl at the time. After studying her astrological chart, the astrologers chose a name for her “He reported that the name had been accepted by the family as well.
Then there was the twist. PM Modi wrote, “After meeting Sushma Ji, my mother said that the baby will be named Sushma.”
“My mother isn’t well-educated, yet she thinks like a modern person. And I still recall how she announced her decision to everyone at the moment “he penned Heeraben Modi, the Prime Minister’s mother is in her 90s.
Sushma Swaraj, one of the BJP’s most popular leaders, died of a heart attack at the age of 67.
Ms Swaraj’s efforts on behalf of people as foreign minister varied from assisting persons trapped in another nation to bringing relatives’ bodies home from overseas. She has even intervened on behalf of foreign nationals in need of an urgent medical visa in India for treatment. Her warmth, generosity, and mellow humour had earned her a Twitter favourite as well.
PM Modi called her as a “wonderful leader” with a “compassionate side” who not only improved India’s ties with many nations, but also “helped fellow Indians in distress in any corner of the world” in his condolence statement.
