Sushma Swaraj told Shashi Tharoor that she wished both continued in their positions
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted last night that he was "sorry" that Union Minister Sushma Swaraj will leave parliament, "for all our political differences". Tweeting her response, Sushma Swaraj quipped that she wished both continued in their positions.
The exchange caught much attention on social media hours after Sushma Swaraj declared in Madhya Pradesh that she would not contest next year's parliamentary election. She cited health reasons. Soon after, her husband tweeted a "thank you" and said "even Milkha Singh stopped running at one point".
As many appeared to assume that Ms Swaraj was retiring from politics, she put out a clarification. "... I am not retiring from politics. It is just that I am not contesting the next Lok Sabha election due to my health issues," she tweeted.
She also responded promptly to Mr Tharoor's tweet.
Ms Swaraj has won nine Lok Sabha elections and is the second woman foreign minister after Indira Gandhi.
Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted that Ms Swaraj, a parliamentarian from Madha Pradesh, "had read the writing on the wall in Madhya Pradesh" and announced she would not contest the 2019 election. He later posted that the minister had served the country with great dignity.
Ms Swaraj was forced to take a break from work for months in 2016 because of her diabetes and kidney failure. She had a kidney transplant.