Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night, AIIMS sources said. She was 67. The senior BJP leader was brought to AIIMS between 9:30pm and 10:00pm and was straight away taken to the emergency ward.
Several senior ministers, including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, reached AIIMS after she was admitted to the hospital.
Swaraj had put out a tweet in the evening congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Centre's move to revoke special status for Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the border state into two Union Territories secured Parliament's approval. "Narendra Modi ji - Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime," she had said. She is survived by her husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri.
Several people on social media have expressed shock on the sudden demise of the much-loved leader.
Bollywood celebrities who have tweeted grieving Swaraj's demise are Anupam Kher, Parineeti Chopra, Swara Bhasker, Vishal Dadlani, Boman Irani, Riteish Deshmukh and Ekta Kapoor.
Veteran actor Anupam Kher took to Twitter and posted a live video sharing his memories of Swaraj. Saddened by the untimely death, Kher recalled the times he chatted with Swaraj on various topics.
Film and television producer Ekta Kapoor remembered the time Swaraj had awarded her. She shared that it was Swaraj who had taught her the very first lesson that women should help women grow.
Actor Boman Irani, too, mourned the loss and tweeted, "A force of nature she was. Too young to go. Saddened to hear this untimely news. A nation’s loss. #SushmaSwaraj #RIPSushmaSwaraj."