New Delhi, Aug 13 Tributes and good words about departed souls go hand in hand; so does anecdotes and some light moments which can leave people with moist eyes.
Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had some special memories to share on Tuesday about their deceased colleague and compatriot of many years in front of a capacity crowd at the spacious Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.
".....Woh achhi thi; namra se bhari hui thi, sab thik hae. Lekin kabhi kabhi unki juban mein pucca Haryanvi touch bhi thi (Everyone has appreciated her, recalled her qualities. But I used to get a clear Haryanvi touch in her ascent)," Prime Minister said here at the Shradanjali Programme organised by Delhi unit of BJP.
"Along with the Haryanvi ascent, she knew how to make her point strongly. And once she has shared her views or made her point; Sushma ji would not compromise an inch," Prime Minister said at the function attended by Late Swaraj's husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri besides a galaxy of parliamentarians from different parties and also union Ministers.
Born in Ambala Cantonment area, at the age of 25 in 1977, Sushma Swaraj became the youngest cabinet minister of Haryana.
For his part, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "....I used to call her Di; normally she took it for Ji and that's an usual practice. But one day, when I called her Sushma-Di and she heard it clearly. She came back and held both my hands".
Born on July 10, 1951, Defence Minister Rajnath was - however - one year elder to Late Sushma, who was born on February 14, 1952.
Both Mr Modi and Rajnath Singh have seen Sushma Swaraj work from close range.
In fact, between 2010 and 2014, when Sushma was Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha; Mr Singh was BJP president and a sitting MP in the Lower House of Parliament itself.
Many times, after Late Swaraj used to make her speeches or the due observations - Rajnath Singh would be seen congratulating her.Prime Minister also said that Ms Bansuri has enough glimpses of her mother and at the time of Sushma's death, "Bansuri did stand strong and also rendered the much needed emotional support to her father (Swaraj Kaushal)".
In an emotive speech, Ms Bansuri said her mother (Late Swaraj) was her "best friend".
Ailing Advani extends I-Day greetings, no flag hoisting at his residence on Aug 15
New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) Former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP patriarch L K Advani on Wednesday extended Independence Day greetings to all but his office said on account of his ill health there will be no flag hoisting programme at his residence on Thursday.
"This is to inform you that Shri L K Advaniji has been running viral fever for the last five days, as such there will be no Flag Hoisting programme this year on 15th August, 2019 at his residence 30, Prithviraj Road, New Delhi," a statement from his office said here.
"Happy Independence Day Greetings to all," the missive said.
Veteran BJP leader Advani unfurls tri colour on the occasion of the Independence Day every year.
Tectonic shift: Lotus blooms in regional party bastion Sikkim as BJP gets ten MLAs
New Delhi, Aug 13 After making its imprint in seven north eastern states, the BJP on Tuesday took a giant and decisive step to emerge as a force to reckon with in the eighth state of Sikkim as ten sitting legislators from regional outfit SDF switched over to the saffron camp.
"We want Lotus - BJP's election symbol - to bloom in Sikkim," D T Lepcha, five-time legislator, told reporters here signaling tectonic shift in the state's polity as it is for the first time a national political party has made its mark in Sikkim - which has been traditionally a regional party bastion.
Though his party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha stormed to power in state polls held this year, the incumbent Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang is however, not an elected MLA of the House.
The state is - thus - heading for interesting political developments as there would be by-elections in three vacant assembly seats round the corner.
For their part, BJP leaders like Ram Madhav has said - "BJP will play the role of a constructive opposition in Sikkim".
In fact, the whispering in the saffron camp already begun that the BJP is within the striking distance to 'power' in the scenic Himalayan state.
"I welcome all those who have joined the BJP today. SDF is the opposition in Sikkim. Now, the BJP can take up constructive opposition role in Sikkim," Mr Madhav said.
In the state assembly elections earlier this year, Pawan Kumar Chamling-led SDF suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of newly floated regional outfit Sikkim Krantikari Morcha.
Launched in 2013, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha bagged 17 seats, one more than required for a majority in the 32-member Assembly while Mr Chamling's SDF could manage 15 seats.
Now, out of fifteen MLAs - ten have moved to the BJP on Tuesday obviously giving the country's ruling party a major boost in its campaign in the north east.
Mr Chamling, however, was elected from two Assembly constituencies in the state polls in May.
Mr Chamling had first become Chief Minister on December 12, 1994.
In April 2018, Mr Chamling surpassed the record of the Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu, who ruled West Bengal for 23 years from June 21, 1977 till November 6, 2000.
Sikkim remained a fiefdom of regional parties and prior to Chamling it was Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s Sikkim Sangram Parishad, which remained in power for long.
The Congress party - which ruled all across seven other states, it could not make deeper inroads into Sikkim.
The BJP has its own Chief Minister (s) in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura and shares power with NDPP in in Nagaland and NPP in Meghalaya.
In Mizoram, MNF is in power and the state-level party is a constituent of the NDA though BJP does not have any MLA in the state.
Sushmaji was different, she did not hesitate to speak her mind: PM Modi
New Delhi, Aug 13
Paying rich tributes to his one time ministerial colleague and party compatriot Late Sushma Swaraj, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday recalled the deceased leader's multifaceted personality and said she 'never hesitated' to speak her mind.
"We are used to people saying politically correct things but Sushma Ji was different. She did not hesitate to speak her mind and she spoke with firmness. This was special about her," Mr Modi said at a Shradanjali Programme organised by Delhi unit of BJP.
At the function attended by union ministers, BJP chief Amit Shah and parliamentarians from other parties, the Prime Minister said the former Minister was an 'inspiration' and lauded the manner she vacated the official ministerial bungalow as soon as the election process was over.
The function was also attended by the deceased leader's husband and former Mizoram Governor Swaraj Kaushal and her daughter Bansuri.
In an emotive speech, Ms Bansuri said her mother (Late Swaraj) was her "best friend".
Prime Minister also said that Ms Bansuri has enough glimpses of her mother and at the time of her mother's death, "Bansuri did stand strong and also rendered the much needed emotional support to her father (Swaraj Kaushal)".
Mr Modi also said Late Swaraj was highly successful in bringing major transition in the approach of the Ministry of External Affairs and it has transformed from 'protocol' to an institute that would respond to "people's call".
"She was younger to me, but in public life I had lot to learn from her," Mr Modi said.
"One would conventionally associate the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) with protocol but Sushma Ji went a step ahead and answered the people’s call, making the Ministry people friendly," Prime Minister said.
"The number of passport offices rose significantly during the tenure of Sushma Ji. This shows how much she cared about the people," he said.
Mr Modi said in any ministerial duty she held, Sushma Ji brought about a marked change in the work culture there.
Mr Modi, who has seen Sushma Swaraj from close range both in the government since 2014 and in the party rank and file, said the "Krishna Bhakti was integral to Sushma Ji".
"She would always abide by the ideals and teachings of Bhagwan Shri Krishna," he said.
Former External Affairs Minister Late Swaraj expired on August 6 after a massive heart attack.
A good orator and a seasoned parliamentarian, she hand undergone kidney transplantation sometime back and did not contest the Lok Sabha elections on health ground only.
Lauding her oratory and debating skills in Parliament and as a powerful political campaigner outside, Mr Modi said - "The speeches of Sushma Ji were both Prabhavi and Prerak (could influence one and also inspire)".
"She will remain an inspiration for several people," Prime Minister said.
Recalling past anecdotes and some memories, Prime Minister said in 1999, while it was a foregone conclusion that Congress president Sonia Gandhi would easily win Bellary, Late Swaraj did not hesitate to take Ms Gandhi head on when the BJP leadership decided about the same.
"I remember Venkaiah Naiduji and me going to Sushmaji and asking her to go to Karnataka to fight elections. The outcome was certain but she was someone who was always ready to take up challenges," Prime Minister said.
"Today, various people have shared their thoughts about Sushma Ji. She was a multifaceted personality and we, Karyakartas of the BJP have seen very closely what a great personality she was," Mr Modi said.
Speaking on the occasion BJP chief Amit Shah also acknowledged the fact that the vacuum created by Sushma's death cannot be fulfilled by anyone soon.
"A vigilant lawmaker and she always raised people's voice in Parliament. Sushmaji's voice will always reverberate in our Parliament," Mr Shah said.
BJP Working President J P Nadda said while Late Swaraj had the essential 'sharpness' of a political activist while debating, but she would never deviate from the boundaries of parliamentary decorum.
Among others Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi, Pinaki Mishra of BJD, LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, BSP’s Satish Mishra, JD (U) leader
Rajiv Ranjan Singh of JD(U), Tiruchi Shiva of DMK and representatives from AIADMK, TRS leader and Shiv Sena also spoke.
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