Sushma Swaraj`s husband, daughter salute her before her final journey

Bansuri Swaraj and Swaraj Kaushal, the daughter and husband of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, paid `salute` as state honours were being accorded to the departed BJP leader ahead of her last rites.

NEW DELHI: As the entire nation mourns the demise of former Union minister Sushma Swaraj, her daughter and husband and many others paid their last respects to the popular BJP leader, who died of a massive cardiac arrest on Tuesday evening, ahead of her last rites at the Lodhi Road crematorium on Wednesday.

Bansuri Swaraj and Swaraj Kaushal, the daughter and husband of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, paid salute to her as state honours were being accorded to the departed BJP leader ahead of her last rites.

Earlier today, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP working president JP Nadda and many others paid tribute to Swaraj at her residence.

Prime Minister Modi and BJP veteran LK Advani had turned emotional as they visited Swaraj`s home to pay their last respects.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu paid rich tributes to Sushma Swaraj and the entire House observed two minutes silence as a mark of respect to her memory.

"I rise in deep sorrow with a heavy heart to inform the house of the sudden demise of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. She was a member of the House for three terms - April 1990 to April 1996, April 2000 to April 2006 and April 2006 to May 2009. She was also elected to the Lok Sabha four times in 1996, 1998, 2009 and 2014. She was first elected to the Haryana legislature in 1977," Naidu said reading out from a prepared statement as the House met for the day."

Swaraj, who passed away at AIIMS, was BJP's most prominent woman face. 

''She brought a human touch to the Ministry of External Affairs and was very accessible. She played an effective role in the rescue of many Indians around the world. She was an effective orator and had equal command on both Hindi and English. In her untimely demise, the nation has lost an able administrator, an effective parliamentarian and a true voice of people," he added.

Swaraj breathed her last at the age of 67 here on Tuesday night. 

She was admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following a deterioration in her health.