External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday, July 30, came to the rescue of a man, who had lost his passport in the United States, just days before his wedding ceremony in India.
The stranded man, identified as Devatha Ravi Teja, reached out to Swaraj on Twitter and informed her about his dilemma. Teja claimed that he was currently in the USA and had lost his passport. He had even requested Sushma to help him obtain a new passport as quickly as possible so that he can attend his own wedding.
"@SushmaSwaraj ji, I lost my passport in Washington DC USA. I have my wedding on August 13-15. Travelling on August 10. Please help me expedite my tatkal request and help me in attending my wedding in time. You are my only hope. Plz do the needful," the Indian man tweeted.
Within five and a half hours, the external affairs minister replied to his tweet and assured him help.
"Devatha Ravi Teja -- You have lost your Passport at a very wrong time. However, we will help you reach for your wedding in time," Swaraj tweeted.
She even requested the Indian embassy in the US to help Teja. "Navtej - Let us help him on humanitarian grounds. @IndianEmbassyUS," she said. Teja later thanked Swaraj for her immediate help.
Immediate help for distressed Indians
However, this is not the first time that the EAM has come to the rescue of distressed Indians.
- Earlier in January 2018, Swaraj had assisted an Indian woman by arranging help to get back the body of her son, after he collapsed and passed away at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. The matter was brought to her notice by a Twitter user named Ramesh, who informed her about the helplessness of the woman.
"She should not worry. Indian High Commission officials are reaching the Kuala Lumpur airport. The body will be flown to India at our expense. An official of the Indian High Commission will escort the grieving mother to India," Swaraj tweeted and also expressed grief for the woman's loss.
- During the same month, she helped a 17-year-old girl named Bhanupriya Haritwal of Jalalpur village in Rajasthan. Her visa was confirmed by the US Embassy so that she could pursue higher education.
- In early November 2017, a woman had sought a report from the Indian High Commission in Kenya about an Indian boy named Bunty Shah, who was shot dead in Nairobi. "Madam Indian Family boy shot dead in his home in Nairobi. Can you pls check reports & help/support them. Thanks (sic)," a Twitter user named Netra Parikh had said, followed by a similar tweet by another netizen.
To this, Swaraj asked Suchitra Durai, the Indian Ambassador in Kenya to send her a report.
- In a similar case, she had also asked the Indian High Commission of the US to submit a report on an attack involving a Sikh schoolboy in the state of Washington.
- Over a year and a half ago, the EAM had directed the Indian Embassy in Washington to issue a visa to US-based Abhai Kaul so that he could attend his father's funeral in India and perform the last rites.
