One of the most prominent ministers of PM Narendra Modi’s cabinet, Sushma Swaraj is a real mass leader. This honest and kind leader has won many hearts since she took over as External Affairs Minister. She has helped people time and again, be it any country and also apologetic to victims who had experienced bad treatment from officers under her ministry. Recently, a Manipur woman has alleged racial harassment at Delhi airport, as a social media was outraged. Monika Khangembam is another victim of racism in India and she hails from north east. Ms Khangembam was asked if she was an Indian at the IGI airport. Officer asked her questions about Manipur despite, she possessing Indian passport. In recent years, the country has seen a spate of attacks in major cities targeting people from the Northeast, whose physical appearance is often different from people belonging to other regions of the country. According to Monica Khangembam, a corporate communications professional who was travelling to South Korea for a conference, she was asked questions like, “How many states are there in India?” Monica took to social networking site Facebook to express her anger over the alleged racist behaviour of the immigration official. Sushma Swaraj not only apologised to Monica but immediately took action against the officers.
In another incident, a Russian woman in Agra, who had accused her in-laws of harassment, was “united” with her family after an intervention by Sushma Swaraj and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Ms Efimenkova has done her post-graduation in Chinese philosophy from the Russian State University in Moscow. She was about to pursue a doctorate in Confucianism but she fell in love and married Vikrant, who ran a beach-side restaurant in Goa, in 2011. She lives with her husband in Goa and came to visit her in-laws last month. As differences flared in the family, her mother-in-law forced them to move out, saying she would only let her in if she brought dowry. Denying charges of dowry harassment, her mother-in-law Nirmala Chandel gave statements saying her daughter-in-law gambles, she drinks and uses drugs. They take away whatever money she manages to save. After the woman’s plight was reported by local news networks Sushma tweeted to Akhilesh Yadav, saying “Akhilesh ji, please help this lady”. Responding later in the evening, Mr. Yadav tweeted, “Yes, we are.” A few hours after the exchange, Mr. Yadav’s office tweeted a photo of the re-united family saying, “The lady has been united with the family after counselling the in-laws.”
The External Affairs Minister has been winning hearts since the time she took over, by helping many Indians in times of trouble. Despite many controversies, she just kept doing good work. She has been very active on social media in helping Indians everywhere facing consular and other issues. Using Twitter, her team has helped several Indians living abroad in times of crisis.
Lately, she helped an Indian who was stuck in a conflict zone in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran. His employer didn’t return his passport, so the minister took the matter in her hands. When Neha Agarwal Parikh, an analyst with a credit rating agency, tweeted a request at Swaraj to get her parents out of Turkey, the minister immediately helped. Parish’s senior ‘citizen parents’ were stuck at Istanbul for a day as her mother had misplaced her passport while returning home from their trip to Europe. This time, she helped a lady whose mother met with an accident while on a vacation in Bali and the hospital refused to accept Indian insurance. In April, a woman in Yemen tweeted out a picture of her baby, asking Swaraj to help her with evacuation, and madam was right there with every help. Indians across the globe are very happy with her. She literally walks with people and delivers the help when they are in trouble. One minister brought ‘achche din’ to many people’s lives. Indian needs few more such ministers who care for human values.
Swaraj, a lawyer by profession and a seasoned parliamentarian with many ‘first-timer’ records in her name, is often considered to be among the best spoken Indian politician and also known for her diplomatic skills. She served as the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014 and by virtue of her designation; she had the opportunity to meet a galaxy of world leaders visiting India apart from her official foreign trips. This has significantly improved her understanding in world affairs and also helped her to develop a personal rapport with many important dignitaries.
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