Former Union Finance Minister and BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley died at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Saturday afternoon at the age of 66.
Jaitley, a lawyer-turned politician admitted at the health facility on August 9 following prolonged illness and died at 12:07 pm today, according to a press release issued by AIIMS’ Media and Protocol Division.
He was admitted into AIIMS’ intensive care unit (ICU) and was treated by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors after he complained of uneasiness. He was put on life-support system after his condition deteriorated.
Mr Jaitley’s health issues became worse after he had a kidney transplant in May last year. A diabetic, he also had to skip the interim budget in February when he was in hospital in the US for treatment.
Born into a family of Punjabi lawyers, Mr Jaitley studied at Delhi’s Sri Ram College. He debuted into politics as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ union linked to the BJP.
A Rajya Sabha member, he contested the 2014 election from Amritsar in Punjab, but could not win despite a perceived Modi wave. But he returned to parliament as Finance Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and senior BJP leaders condoled the death of Arun Jaitley.
Modi, who is now in the UAE as part of a three-nation tour, in a tweet message, said
“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”.
Apart from the political spectrum, people from all walks of lives paid rich tribute to the memory of the late BJP veteran Arun Jaitley.
Source: NDTV