Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Jan. 8 : Although her health did not permit her to attend the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas', an ailing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been constantly monitoring each and every event and activity.
Illness kept her away from the programme, but praise for her endeavor to give a humane face to the Indian diplomacy was at the centre stage of the event.
Lauding Swaraj's effort to continuously monitor the activities going on in the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas', Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup told ANI that the former has always prioritised the safety, security and well-being of the Indian diaspora.
"You see her tweets every day. Despite the fact that physically she could not be here after her surgical procedures, but in spirit she was there with us each and every minute.
We could feel her presence in everything that we were doing. Even from the house, she has been following the progress of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in minute detail," he added.
Swarup said although Swaraj was not physically present at the event, she was in spirit with all of them.
"I have got several phone calls from her asking how was each event happening....what has been the response like etc.
All of us who are currently in Bengaluru would wish her a speedy recovery. We want her back in the Ministry of External Affairs. Right now, she is operating from the house but following very closely the events and activities which are happening in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas," he added.
Swaraj has often responded to tweets sent directly to her by Indians in distress abroad and has intervened personally to help them.
But today, she said her ministry's adopting "a new pattern." "Pl tweet your problem to concerned Indian Embassy/authority and endorse the same to @sushmaswaraj.
I monitor their response to your tweets," she tweeted. Swaraj's announcement comes just weeks after her ministry launched Twitter Seva, "an umbrella platform" of all External Affairs Ministry-affiliated Twitter handles which will allow the Indians to get help faster than ever from passport offices and Indian overseas missions.
The External Affairs Minister's initiatives also drew her applause from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who specifically mentioned her efforts in his key note address at the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' while discussing the measures which his government has taken for the welfare and safety of Indians living or travelling overseas.
Source: ANI
