New Delhi: The Delhi government on Wednesday announced a two-day state mourning as a mark of respect for senior BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who passed away due to a cardiac arrest, late night on Tuesday.
"Delhi government has announced a two-day state mourning as a mark of respect in the memory of former chief minister and country's senior leader respected Sushma Swaraj ji. This means there will be no entertainment events during this period. All other government business and programmes, including the Anganwadi programme at IG Indoor Stadium, will continue as scheduled," said AAP-led Delhi government in a statement. In a series of tweets, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed grief and paid tribute to the prolific leader.
"India has lost a great leader. Sushma ji was a very warm and remarkable person. May her soul rest in peace. She was the former CM of Delhi. Delhi will pay its respects by observing state mourning for two days," stated Kejriwal in a tweet. Kejriwal along with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia also paid their last respects to Sushma Swaraj, at her residence in the national capital.
Swaraj passed away due to a cardiac arrest on Tuesday night. She was admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following a deterioration in her health.
According to sources at AIIMS, the 67-year-old was feeling restless at 9 pm and reached the hospital at around 9:30 pm in an ambulance. A team of doctors tried to revive her for 70 to 80 minutes but failed in their attempt. Swaraj was declared dead at 10:50 pm. 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 health reasons.
