New Delhi, August 24: Former Finance Minister and BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley, 66, passed away on Saturday in the national capital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he was admitted announced.
“It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Shri Arun Jaitley, Honorable Member of Parliament and Former Finance Minister, Government of India at 12.07 pm on August 24, 2019. Shri Arun Jaitley was admitted in AIIMS, New Delhi on August 9, 2019 and was treated by a multidisciplinary team of senior Doctors,” Aarti Vij, Chairperson, Media and Protocol Division, AIIMS said in a bulletin.
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“With the demise of Arun Jaitley Ji, I have lost a valued friend, whom I have had the honour of knowing for decades. His insight on issues and nuanced understanding of matters had very few parallels. He lived well, leaving us all with innumerable happy memories. We will miss him!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
“BJP and Arun Jaitley Ji had an unbreakable bond. As a fiery student leader, he was at the forefront of protecting our democracy during the Emergency. He became a much liked face of our Party, who could articulate the Party programmes and ideology to a wide spectrum of society,” he said.
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“During his long political career, Arun Jaitley Ji held multiple ministerial responsibilities, which enabled him to contribute towards India’s economic growth, strengthening our defence capabilities, creating people friendly laws and enhancing trade with other nations,” he further added.
Jaitley was a lawyer by profession, who had played a very crucial role in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet during the first term. Apart from finance ministry, he also held defence portfolio and information and broadcast briefly.
Jaitley played a very important role during demonetisation days and rolling out of Goods and Services Tax and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
He became the finance minister in 2014. But he did not contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing his health issues.
He had undergone kidney transplant on May, 2018. During his absence Piyush Goyal took charge of the finance ministry.
In September 2014, he also underwent bariatric surgery.
