Watch: This video of Sushma Swaraj getting a rousing welcome in parliament will give every Indian goosebumps

Members in the Lok Sabha, cutting across party lines, today extended a warm welcome to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when she came to the House after a long absence due to health reasons. As soon as she was spotted stepping into her front row seat after the Question Hour, members began thumping their desks and it continued for some time as she took her seat. Greeting 65-year-old Swaraj, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan wished her a long and healthy life. 

A smiling Swaraj, appearing a little wan, accepted wishes from her and other members. Union ministers Uma Bharti and Sadananda Gowda as also Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia then went to her to wish her.
Leader of Congress in the House Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed her from his seat and wished her a long and healthy life in serving the nation. 

Swaraj, in turn, expressed her happiness upon returning to the House and thanked members for their wishes. She later made a statement on the cases of attacks, including hate crimes, on Indians in the US.
After that, members came to her in large numbers to greet her. Swaraj underwent a kidney transplant on December 10 at the AIIMS and has since been away from the public glare. 

Watch the video below: 
 

In the Lok Sabha, she said that the government had conveyed its "deep concern" to the US administration over attacks on Indians there. As Lok Sabha members thumped their benches to welcome her to the House following her absence due to health issues, she highlighted the steps taken by the government following three recent incidents of attacks, including suspected hate crimes, rejecting Opposition criticism that it had kept quiet.

"To say that we did not take any step or maintained silence is absolutely wrong. This government can never keep silent over such incidents. This is not in our work culture.

We always do more that what is expected of us," she said, responding to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's critcism. The Minister said that even when she was convalescing, she had spoken to the family members of the victims and officers of Indian consulate general had reached out to them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is being accused of silence, sought daily updates from her ministry amid his busy election campaign, Swaraj said.

 
"The government has taken up this issue with the US government at very high-levels and conveyed our deep concerns. We have called for necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of Indian diaspora and expeditious investigation into these incidents," she said.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar discussed the matter with ministers and senior functionaries of the US administration as well as with the Congressional leadership during his recent visit there during February 28-March 3, she said.
"I would like to reassure the House and the members that safety and security of India diaspora abroad remains a top priority for this government... We will remain vigilant to developments impacting the lives of Indians abroad and do everything possible to safeguard their interests and welfare," she said.

Swaraj also referred to President Donald Trump's condemnation of Kansas shooting in which Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla (32) was shot dead by an American in a suspected hate crime and condolences from other top US officials including House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan. 

"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," she told the Lok Sabha. People-to-people contacts are the foundation on which the India-US strategic partnership has been built, she said.