Wearing a green saree and her trademark matching waistcoat, Swaraj was greeted with a warm welcome by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, amidst a loud applause.
Political parties across the aisle in Lok Sabha set aside their differences for a few moments on Wednesday morning to greet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who made her first public appearance in three months as she had undergone a kidney transplant.
Wearing a green saree and her trademark matching waistcoat, Swaraj was greeted with a warm welcome by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, amidst a loud applause.
After thanking them, Swaraj, known for her oratorical skills, made a statement assuring the House that safety of the Indian diaspora in the US was a top priority and that New Delhi had conveyed its "deep concern" to the US administration over attacks on Indians there.
Last week, Opposition members, including Kharge, had questioned the government's 'silence' on the attacks.
"The other day, I was watching the Lok Sabha debate on hate crimes against Indians on TV. Khargeji and CPM's Mohammed Salimji wanted to know why our government was silent. I want to make it clear that this government never keeps quiet when anyone of our people is in trouble," she said.
Swaraj said despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hectic campaign schedule, he had made repeated inquiries about the family of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, the Hyderabad techie who was shot dead in Kansas, and hate crimes in the US.
"The government has taken up this issue with the US government and conveyed our deep concerns," she said.
She even quoted herself in Punjabi to convey how she spoke to the father of another Indian attacked in an attempted robbery.
Referring to the US President Donald Trump's condemnation of Kansas shooting in which Kuchibhotla was killed and condolences expressed by other US officials, including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, she said, "The fact that broad sections of the American society have expressed their deep sorrow and regret over these incidents reassures us that despite these individual incidents, the American society values the people-to-people engagement between our two countries."
Swaraj said people-to-people contacts are the foundation on which the India-US strategic partnership has been built.
On Deep Rai, a Sikh shot outside his house in Seattle, Swaraj said MEA officials reached out to his family and he was in the hospital recovering from the attack.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Sushma Swaraj")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}