Arun Jaitley, the BJP’s former finance minister and chief troubleshooter, died at the AIIMS hospital in Delhi, two weeks after being admitted to breathlessness complaints. He was sixty-six. Party leaders toured the residence of Arun Jaitley to pay tribute to the leader. Tomorrow he will be cremated.
“We are deeply grieved to report Shri Arun Jaitley’s sad demise… Shri Arun Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS, New Delhi on 09/08/2019 and handled by a multidisciplinary team of senior physicians,” AIIMS said in a short declaration that Arun Jaitley died at 12.07 pm
Senior rulers have reached AIIMS, including Smriti Irani and Hardeep Singh Puri. The body of Mr Jaitley will quickly be taken back and the funeral will take place tomorrow. Mr Jaitley’s body will be held at the BJP office until 2 p.m. before the funeral at Nigam Bodh Ghat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the UAE, said Mr Jaitley was a political gigantic, intellectual and legal luminary of great importance. As tweeted by PM Modi, “Arun Jaitley Ji was a political giant, towering intellectual and legal luminary. He was an articulate leader who made a lasting contribution to India. His passing away is very saddening. Spoke to his wife Sangeeta Ji as well as son Rohan, and expressed condolences. Om Shanti,”
Mr Jaitley, a professional lawyer, was an important part of the first term of the BJP government in the cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He kept the portfolios of finance and defence and often acted as the government’s principal troubleshooter. Arun Jaitley resulted the introduction of Goods and Services Tax or GST during his tenure as finance minister.
Mr Jaitley, probably because of his ill health, did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Arun Jaitley also had to skip the provisional budget lecture in February when he was being treated in hospital in the United States. Also, when he was 52, the lawyer-turned-politician had triple heart bypass surgery.
