RIP Sushma Swaraj: Parineeti to Swara, Bollywood mourns death of ex-foreign minister

New Delhi: Condolences poured in from all quarters of the world following the death of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and members of the film fraternity too expressed grief over the 67-year-old BJP stalwart's demise.

Swaraj was admitted to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Tuesday following a deterioration in her health. She passed away at the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Soon after the news of Swaraj's demise broke, several Bollywood celebrities, including Parineeti Chopra, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Lata Mangeshkar, Swara Bhasker, Sunny Deol, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Riteish Deshmukh, Ekta Kapoor, and Madhur Bhandarkar took to social media to offer condolences and remembered the beloved leader.

Veteran actor Anupam Kher went live on Twitter and shared his memories of Swaraj. Saddened by her sudden demise, Kher recalled the times he interacted with her on various occasions.

Actor Boman Irani, too, mourned the loss of Swaraj and tweeted, "A force of nature she was. Too young to go. Saddened to hear this untimely news. A nation's loss."

Parineeti Chopra, expressing grief over Swaraj's demise, said she always felt proud that a woman from her hometown Ambala made it big. "I hail from Ambala Cantt, same as Sushma Swaraj ji. Always felt proud that a woman from our small town made it big, and made a difference. Sushma ji rest in peace. You inspired me on a personal level. #RIPSushmaSwarajJi," she tweeted.

Calling Swaraj a "graceful and honest leader", Lata Mangeshkar offered her deepest condolences. "Deeply shocked and saddened to hear about Sushma Swaraj ji's sudden demise. A graceful and honest leader, a sensitive and selfless soul, a keen understanding of music and poetry and a dear friend. Our former external minister will be remembered fondly," she wrote.

Swara Bhasker too expressed grief and said although the actor had a contrasting ideology when compared to that of the leader's, she "greatly admired" Swaraj's resolve and work ethic. "RIP #SushmaSwaraj ji. She epitomised dignity, commitment to democratic norms, grace in politics. A brilliant parliamentarian, a fine bilingual orator, a humane foreign minister- she was inspiring. I differed with her ideology, but greatly admired her resolve & work ethic," she tweeted.

"Deeply saddened that Sushma Swaraj has passed away. Inspite of political differences we had an extremely cordial relationship. I was 1 of her Navratans as she called us during her I and B ministership and she gave industry status to film. Articulate sharp and accessible. RIP," Shabana Azmi tweeted, expressing sadness over the demise.

Ayushmann Khurrana too offered his deepest condolences, writing, "#SushmaSwaraj ji, may your soul rest in peace."

Union ministers Prahlad Patel, Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, and Nitin Gadkari were among the early leaders who rushed to AIIMS following the news of Swaraj's demise. Earlier today, the senior BJP leader had welcomed the revoking of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the move.

"Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime," Swaraj had tweeted.

Swaraj was appointed the foreign minister in the first term of Modi government in 2014. She opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing ill health. During her tenure, the BJP leader had been active and popular on Twitter, reaching out to the Indian diaspora in distress for assistance.