Sushma Swaraj thanks PM Modi, hopes new govt functions with glory

Sushma Swaraj, who was a notable omission in the new NDA government, on May 31 thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving her an opportunity to serve people of India as External Affairs Minister. Taking to Twitter over an hour after the swearing-in ceremony ended, Swaraj prayed that the Modi government in its second term functions with glory.

"Prime Minister-ji — as External Affairs Minister, you have given me opportunity in the last five years to serve the countrymen and Indians abroad and accorded me a lot of respect at personal level. I am grateful to you. I pray to God that our government functions gloriously," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

Swaraj leaves a legacy of an easily-accessible external affairs minister who helped Indian diaspora in distress with her quick response on Twitter to requests for help.

Some of the key ministers in the previous Modi government, including Swaraj, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Maneka Gandhi, Radha Mohan Singh and Jayant Sinha are not part of the new dispensation.

Swaraj had opted out of fighting the Lok Sabha elections due to health reasons.

Her interaction with the diaspora on social media established her as someone who can be reached in distress with just the click of a mouse.

Several path-breaking measures such as the passport infrastructure expansion and enhanced engagement with the East were the highlight of her tenure.

Swaraj, 66, became the External Affairs Minister in 2014 when Modi's first cabinet was sworn-in on May 26.