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Sushma Swaraj Birthday Special: Here’s Why The Indian External Affairs Minister Is A Queen On Twitter!

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been winning hearts of all the people across the nation ever since she took office. Undoubtedly, she is one of the most accessible and reliable ministers in the BJP government.

From resolving people’s visa problems to even helping people reach their destination safely, Swaraj has time and again, asserted through her mediation that she is just a tweet away.

Yes, Sushma Swaraj always stands in the first place to come forward and offer support to people in distress. And she makes the best use of social networking sites in helping the people. Actually, she is the twitter queen now.

While the rest of the world celebrates Valentine’s Day, the 64-year-old minister celebrates her birthday today (February 14). Yes, today is her birthday!

She is an Indian politician born on February 14, 1952. She has been a former Supreme Court lawyer and currently serving as the Minister of External Affairs of India since May 26, 2014.

On her 64th birthday, here are some interesting facts about Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs Minister of India:

1.Sushma Swaraj is an advocate by profession

Sushma Swaraj started practice as an advocate in the Supreme Court of India in 1973 and was a part of George Fernandes’s legal defence team in 1975.

She married Kaushal Swaraj during the Emergency, who is now a senior advocate of Supreme Court of India. He was earlier a criminal lawyer who served as Governor of Mizoram from 1990 to 1993. He was also a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1998 to 2004.

2. Sushma Swaraj received the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2004

Sushma Swaraj is Indian Parliament’s first and only female MP to receive the ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Award’ for her contribution to Indian politics.

3. Sushma Swaraj is in the Limca Book of Records

Sushma Swaraj and her husband Swaraj Kaushal have been credited as the ‘Most Distinguished Couple’ by Limca Book of Records for their achievements and distinction at a young age.

4. Sushma Swaraj entered politics with students wing of RSS – the ABVP

She started her political career with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the early 1970s while she was studying at Punjab University, Chandigarh.

5. Sushma Swaraj is the youngest Cabinet Minister till date

After 1977 emergency, Sushma Swaraj had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and become the youngest cabinet minister of a state at the age of 25!

6. Sushma Swaraj was the first woman CM of Delhi

Sushma Swaraj was the first woman Chief Minister of the state of Delhi. She served for three months only, from October 13, 1998, to December 3, 1998. There has been no looking back since.

7. On May 26, 2014, she became part of the 16th Lok Sabha and became the External Affairs Minister in the Union of India.

On her birthday, take a look at some of Sushma Swaraj’s Twitter conversations which reveal a lot about her professionalism.

Although the micro-blogging site has begun to buzz with wishes already, it was this ‘thank you’ tweet that seems to have caught her attention first.

Last year in the second week of February, a ship named Maximus carrying 11 Indian sailors was hijacked near the African coast by pirates. 10 of them were rescued, except for Rohan Ruparelia, the captain of the ship.

But, Swaraj’s timely intervention after Zankhana Ruparelia tweeted an SOS to her, led to his rescue as well. And now, a year later, Zankhana tweeted to her again, thanking her.

Of course, Swaraj replied:

When she went all out to help a Sikh man who was stranded in Riyadh

The time she gave it back to a zealot, who questioned why she was not rescuing Hindus stranded

Thus, she has earned praise worldwide for the effective use of social media for helping Indians abroad. Lots of Respect to you Madamji!

Here’s wishing Sushma Swaraj a very happy birthday!