Love lessons: How Sushma Swaraj’s kind gesture turned a critic into an admirer

Bengaluru, Aug 9: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is fast turning into a messiah for people in distress. In recent times, we have seen how on several occassions the senior BJP leader has been proactive in resolving problems of people, who have sent their SOSs to the minister on Twitter.

The latest instance of Swaraj helping a Mangaluru-based couple on their honeymoon trip to Italy has a strong message for all those who are abusive on social media platforms.

The case in point is that of Faizan Patel, a photographer, and his wife Sana Fatima Khan. Days before his journey on August 4, Faizan posted a tweet, "Just two days before our trip, my wife's passport goes missing!!!"

On August 6, he again tweeted, "Seems like I am travelling alone tonight via @TurkishAirlines. My wife has her passport misplaced. Fingers crossed that we find it soon." Since the couple could not find the lost passport, a dejected Faizan on August 7 tweeted, "Travelling to Italy without wifey. #Yay #PartyTime #HoneyMoonwithoutHoney #milan,"

However, it was his tweet on August 8 marked to the External Affairs Minister, which helped the couple and they were reunited on their honeymoon trip. The tweet was accompanied by a picture of Faizan seated on the plane holding his wife's photograph, as she could not join him for the journey. "This is how I am travelling with my wife as of now. @SushmaSwaraj @MEAIndia @MEAQuery," tweeted the photographer.

Immediately Swaraj responded, tweeting, "Ask your wife to contact me. I will ensure that she is with you on the next seat. pic.twitter.com/sktnOMkg0a @faizanpatel." Swaraj further tweeted, "My office has reached you already. You will get a duplicate Passport tomorrow. @faizanpatel https://twitter.com/SFK1986/status/762702881459933184 ..."

A "speechless" Sana thanked Swaraj in her tweet. "@SushmaSwaraj @faizanpatel I'm speechless. Can't thank you enough already."

Faizan too has been posting "thank you" notes to Swaraj on his twitter handle. "Minister par excellence @SushmaSwarajBJP I am glad we have you. You're a beacon of hope. Regards,- Sana & Faizan," tweeted Faizan on August 9.

"Thanks to @SushmaSwaraj, the passport is almost issued. Now the problem is the next available date at the VFS is on Thursday," Faizan added.

However, Faizan in the past was not so gracious towards the External Affairs Minister. An old tweet of Faizan, as retweeted by journalist Shiv Aroor--after Swaraj helped the couple--shows Faizan posting a picture of the minister and the American President Barack Obama shaking hands. The picture was accompanied by an abusive tweet by Faizan. "Where is Sushma's hand?"

Along with the old abusive tweet of Faizan, Aroor tweeted on August 9, "Shouldn't matter to a minister, but here's @FaizanPatel, who @SushmaSwaraj just helped with a 'honeymoon' passport."

It is not the first time Swaraj has helped people in need. Earlier in February 2015, the External Affairs Minister rescued 168 Indians trapped in Iraq by acting on a video that was tweeted to her. She also helped Dev Tamboli by rescuing his sister from trafficking from UAE last year.

There are several such instances when the minister and her team helped helpless Indians in their hour of crisis after they contacted Swaraj on Twitter.

Faizan and his wife episode should be a big lesson for all the haters who love to abuse people on social media platforms.

OneIndia News