Heena Sharma Blog

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the demise of former Union minister Sushma Swaraj , saying a glorious chapter in Indian politics had come to an end. He described her demise as a "personal loss". "India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader," Modi wrote on Twitter. He said he could not forget how the former external affairs minister worked tirelessly. "Even when her health was not good, she would do everything possible to do justice to her work and remain up to date with matters of her Ministry. The spirit and commitment was unparalleled," he said. With her death, a glorious chapter in Indian politics has come to an end, he added. Modi said Swaraj was one of her kind, who was a source of inspiration for crores of people. "Sushma Ji was a prolific orator and outstanding Parliamentarian. She was admired and revered across party lines," he said. "She was uncompromising when it came to matters of ideology a...

Five Indian sailors have been abducted by pirates in Nigeria and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked the Indian high commissioner there to take up the matter at the highest levels of the Nigerian government to ensure their release. She also asked Indian ambassador in Nigeria Abhay Thakur to send her a report on the matter. "I have seen news reports about abduction of five Indian sailors by pirates in Nigeria. I am asking Indian High Commissioner to take this up at the highest level with Government of Nigeria for their release," Swaraj tweeted. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

In a major diplomatic achievement, India for the first time addressed the OIC meeting on Friday here, and asserted that the war against terrorism, which was destabilising regions and putting the world at great peril, was not against any religion. India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to address the grouping of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. "Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion," Swaraj, who is the first Indian minister to address the meeting of the 57 Islamic countries, said. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, a senior mi...

The government has convened an all-party meeting Tuesday evening where External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will brief the leaders of opposition parties on the pre-dawn air strike operation by the Indian Air Force against Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) terror camps in Pakistan, sources said. They said the meeting has been convened at 5 PM at Jawahar Bhawan which houses the ministry of External Affairs. Leaders of various parties are expected to participate. In a swift and precise air strike following the Pulwama attack , India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders, officials said. Giving details of the operation at a news conference here, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said credible intelligence was received that the JeM was planning to carry out other suicide attacks in India after the Pulwama bombing on a CRPF convoy 12 days ago th...

The regional passport office on Thursday transferred the official accused of humiliating the interfaith couple Current Affairs News : The External Affairs Ministry has sought a report on allegations that an inter-faith couple was harassed and humiliated by an officer at a   Passport Seva   Kendra in Lucknow. Responding to complaints from Mohammad Anas Siddiqui and Tanvi Seth, who wrote about their ordeal on Twitter and tagged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday, secretary, consular, passport and visa division, D M Mulay said he had asked for a report from the regional passport office in Lucknow and would take appropriate action."Regret for inconvenience. I sought report from @rpolucknow Will take appropriate action," Mulay said on Twitter last night. Siddiqui and Seth had applied for their passports on June 19 and took an appointment for June 20 at aPassport Office in Lucknow. They were allegedly humiliated and shamed by passport officer Vi...