Former external affairs minister and BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj breathed her last on the night of August 6 after suffering a cardiac arrest. Months after the remarkable leader left for her heavenly abode, her husband and former MP Swaraj Kaushal took to Twitter to pen down a memoir of his wife. He shares why the former minister chose AIIMS for her kidney transplant and refused to go abroad for her treatment.
In December 2016, Sushma Swaraj underwent the transplant, a nearly five-hour-long surgery, at AIIMS with a kidney donated by a living unrelated donor. The surgery was conducted at the cardio-thoracic centre by a team of doctors including AIIMS director M.C. Mishra, surgeons V.K. Bansal, V. Seenu and nephrologist Sandeep Mahajan.
Swaraj Kaushal recollects how late former Union minister Sushma Swaraj insisted on undergoing the surgery at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) even as doctors there were not ready to perform it, saying people will lose faith in “our doctors and hospital” if she travelled abroad for treatment. She fixed the date of her surgery and told Dr Mukut Minz: “Doctor saheb, aap sirf instrument pakadaiye, Krishna meri surgery aap karenge” (you just hold the scalpel, Lord Krishna will do my surgery).
Aiims doctors were not ready for
her kidney transplant surgery in India. She said it was a matter of national pride and refused to go abroad. She fixed the date of her surgery and asked Dr Mukut Minz ‘Doc Sab – aap sirf instruments pakadaiye, Krishna meri surgery aap karenge.’ /2— Governor Swaraj (@governorswaraj) November 4, 2019
Swaraj Kaushal recalled that she was smiling in an easy chair just a day later. “Just a day later, she was smiling in an easy chair. She said ‘if we go abroad, people will lose faith in our Doctors and hospitals.’ She treated her surgery as a minor operation. She gave all credit to the AIIMS doctors who are best in the world, dedicated sisters and the staff.
Just a day later, she was smiling in an easy chair. She said ‘if we go abroad, people will lose faith in our Doctors and hospitals.’ She treated her surgery as a minor operation. She gave all credit to the aiims doctors who are best in the world, dedicated sisters and the staff.
— Governor Swaraj (@governorswaraj) November 4, 2019
In another Tweet, Kaushal thanked PM Modi and wrote that he and his wife would be eternally ever grateful for the unfailing support and all the help the Prime Minister extended towards them during those crucial days.
Read: Hate mongers celebrate her death as the nation mourns stateswoman Sushma Swaraj
He wrote that the Prime Minister gave them the hospital wing meant for the PM and was in constant touch with the doctors and with Sushma Swaraj. “There was nothing that should have been done and was not done. As a result, she was fully recovered and back to work. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Prime Minister”, Tweeted Swaraj Kaushal, who is a lawyer and former Mizoram governor.
“We should trust our doctors. We should have none of these Enquiry Commissions. That deters our brilliant doctors from operating on the VIPs. We salute our doctors in AIIMS. Nothing can match their competence and commitment,” wrote Kaushal hailing the brilliance of the dedicated doctors in India.
We should trust our doctors. We should have none of these Enquiry Commissions. That deters our brilliant doctors from operating on the VIPs. We salute our doctors in aiims. Nothing can match their competence and commitment.
— Governor Swaraj (@governorswaraj) November 5, 2019
Clearing the misconception on the success rate of kidney transplant in our country, the practising Indian criminal lawyer wrote: “The best Surgeon abroad does only 30 transplant surgeries in a year. Dr Mukut Minz has done over 3,500 transplants. Dr V K Bansal of AIIMS has done over 1000 and Dr Sandeep Guleria does 300 a year. The success rate is as high as the best in the world. Be proud of our medical talent”, he said.
The stateswoman had stayed away from public life for a while after her surgery and announced during the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections last year that she will not contest 2019 national polls on health grounds.
Swaraj had redefined the relationship between the people and the government. Using social media to its fullest extent during her term as External Affairs minister in the first Modi government, she had reached out and helped countless Indians stranded in other countries. Often, a mere tweet calling for help was enough for her to reach out and provide help in the most difficult of scenarios.
Political leaders across the political spectrum had expressed their sadness and offered condolences to Swaraj’s family. India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted after the death of former union minister and BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj at Delhi’s AIIMS hospital on August 6, 2019.
