Tribute to Sheila Dikshit ji, an extraordinarily Warm and Affable leader who made profound contributions to Delhi.

Tribute to Sheila Dikshit ji, an extraordinarily Warm and Affable leader who made profound contributions to Delhi.

Sheila Dikshit, uniquely blessed with a warm and affable personality and three times (1998-2013) Chief Minister of Delhi and an outstanding contributor for what Delhi is today, passed away this after noon after a massive heart attack at a private hospital in Delhi. Sheilaji personified Delhi and the aspirations of its citizens and her three terms as the Chief Minister of Delhi, was a period of momentous transformation for the nations capital and I was privileged to witness this transformation. She was 81. 

She was one of the most successful Chief Ministers of Delhi and it was during her tenure that Delhi made substantial progress including introducing the largest network of Metros in India and giving the father of Delhi Metro, Er Sreedharan a complete free hand, which ensured that DMRC could complete each of the phases on time and most times before time. The Common Wealth Games in Delhi may have been made infamous due to some of the scams that came to light, yet one thing is certain the landscape of Delhi was completely transformed and for this credit must go to Sheila Dikshit ji. I was one of those hundreds of thousands of people who will be privy to the spectacular achievement that Delhi could achieve in conducting one of the most successful CWG ever to have been organised. Unfortunately undue discredit has been meted out to her because of the infamous CWG scams while no credit whatsoever has been given to her for the success of the CWG which she truly deserves. Most of the Museums and almost every public and cultural spaces were completely transformed and geared up to international standards and we from the National Science Centre played a small role in contributing in this endeavour. We overhauled and completely transformed the Nehru Planetarium, which was in terrible condition and we were also involved in upgrading works of National Museum to international standards besides gearing up our centre for the CWG and for welcoming international delegates.

The National Science Centre had the honour to host Sheila Dikshit ji on three occasions including opening of the Water the Elixir of Life exhibition, for which the funding came from the Delhi Government. Our centre also had the honour to sign the MoU, in the August presence of Sheila Dikshit ji, for completion of this project in record time, which she had informed that she wished to open. True to her commitment she opened this exhibition. It was during her tenure as the Chief Minister that the National Science Centre made giant gains in exponentially increasing the visitors to the centre, primarily because the Delhi Government partnered with us in ensuring that majority of the students visit our centre.

Sheila Dikshit ji also hosted the National Science Seminar students and teachers who came from across the country for participating in the seminar at the National Science Centre, Delhi and spent substantial time with them. She entered the parliament by winning election to become an MP for the first time from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh in 1984. She was a very close associate of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi ji and she was also minister in his cabinet. The pleasing personality that she had ensured that she did not have acrimonious relationship with any of her opponents including Kejriwal who left stone unturned to tarnish her image by spreading canards and unverified and unverifiable allegations against her in his inimitable style. The school education standards in Delhi particularly the government schools is now one of the best in the country for which Kejriwal ji has gone hammer and tongs to claim credit for but the fact of the matter is the foundation for this was laid by Sheila Dikshit ji the fruits of which are now harvested by him.

The passing away of Sheila ji is a huge loss for Delhi and her contribution in transforming Delhi will always be remembered. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and innumerable other leaders, cutting across party lines, paid rich tributes while condoling her untimely demise.

 I join hundreds of thousands of people from Delhi and across the country to pray for her soul to rest in peace.