New Delhi- Former Union finance minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley passed away on Saturday. Jaitley, 66, was admitted to AIIMS on August 9 after he complained of palpitations and restlessness. He was placed under observation at the hospital’s Cardio-Neuro Centre.
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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.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 24, 2019
अरुण जेटली जी के निधन से अत्यंत दुःखी हूँ, जेटली जी का जाना मेरे लिये एक व्यक्तिगत क्षति है।
उनके रूप में मैंने न सिर्फ संगठन का एक वरिष्ठ नेता खोया है बल्कि परिवार का एक ऐसा अभिन्न सदस्य भी खोया है जिनका साथ और मार्गदर्शन मुझे वर्षो तक प्राप्त होता रहा।
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 24, 2019
During the Narendra Modi government’s as finance minister, Arun Jaitley presented all of the Narendra Modi government 1.0’s budgets. However, due to his ill health, he was unable to present the 2019 Interim Budget, which was instead presented by his colleague Piyush Goyal.
Deeply anguished by the demise of my friend and an extremely valued colleague Shri Arun Jaitley ji. He was a proficient lawyer by profession and an efficient politician by passion.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 24, 2019
After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Arun Jaitley wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that he not be given any responsibilities in the new government as he wanted to focus on his health.
A lawyer by profession, Arun Jaitley was among the leaders who were jailed by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency. He was a student leader at the time.
