Hyderabad: Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who passed away on Tuesday night at AIIMS following a severe cardiac arrest, used to take pride in calling herself 'Chinnamma' of Telangana.

Sushma Swaraj had special bond with people of Telangana and called herself 'Chinnamma' (younger maternal aunt) of Telangana. As the then leader of opposition in Lok Sabha she played a key role in passing of the bill for creation of the Telangana state. When Congress leaders were projecting then party President Sonia Gandhi as 'Amma' (mother) of Telangana for carving out the state of Andhra Pradesh, Sushma Swaraj called herself as Telangana's 'Chinnamma' (mother's younger sister). "Please remember the contribution of not just that Amma (Sonia Gandhi) but also this Chinnamma in achieving Telangana state," she had told people of Telangana soon after the Parliament passed Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Video: Sushma Speaking In Telugu For Telangana

#sushmaswaraj is one of those very few National Leaders who firmly stood for the statehood of Telangana...We will be grateful forever Chinnamma. Om Shanti pic.twitter.com/iRMxpnocys
— Aayush Dahal (@IamDahal) August 7, 2019

During time of the Telangana movement in 2012-13, she made an emotional appeal to the youths of Telangana, during the movement for separate state, not to commit suicide. She advised them to be courageous and remain alive to see Telangana becoming a reality. She even made an effort to speak in Telugu. "Don't end lives. You must be alive to see Telangana coming reality", was her appeal.

At Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) held in Hyderabad in 2017, Sushma Swaraj as the then Minister for External Affairs had introduced herself to the delegates as 'Chinnamma of Telangana'.

As a popular as people's minister, Sushma Swaraj also had a special connection with the people of Telangana. She always responded to the requests of those in distress in Gulf and other countries. Always active on the social media, she went out of the way to come to the rescue of the distressed workers from Telangana.

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