‘This is legacy’: Twitter remembers Sushma Swaraj and her ‘Mars’ tweet

Sushma Swaraj, Former External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader, died late Tuesday night of cardiac arrest. She was 67. As Indians all over the world mourn her death, social media is flooded with tributes for the remarkable leader. Among the many moving messages, what stands out is a tweet by Swaraj that is now being shared by many on the micro-blogging site.

The former foreign minister was known to promptly help out those who reached out to her on Twitter. While many wrote to her in dire situations with issues related to visas and passports, several people also put forth bizarre requests. In 2017, one Twitter user even tweeted her saying he was stuck on mars. Swaraj’s simply worded yet wonderful reply to him won over social media instantly.

Now, as news of Swaraj’s death broke, many are reposting the tweet with heartfelt messages.

Sushma Swaraj died of cardiac arrest shortly after she was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

In her last tweet, just hours before her death, Swaraj congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation bill in Parliament.

“Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime,” she tweeted.

PM Modi also mourned Swaraj’s death, describing her as a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service.

“A glorious chapter in Indian politics comes to an end” he tweeted.

Tributes poured in from leaders across the party lines. “Sushma Swaraj, an extraordinary political leader,” tweeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Several others posted similar messages.