Arun Jaitley passes away: Helming finance and defence portfolios, BJP stalwart acted as chief troubleshooter in Modi govt

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday passed away at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. Jaitley, 66, was admitted to the hospital earlier in August after he complained of restlessness. He was placed under observation at the hospital’s Cardio-Neuro-Centre. [caption id=“attachment_7218491” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Arun Jaitley. PTI[/caption] The senior BJP leader first became a Cabinet minister in the government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. Later, he went on to serve as the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha from June 2009. He was appointed the finance minister in the first term of the Narendra Modi government in 2014 and he went on to helm several key ministeries as and when the prime minister called for his services. He, however, opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing health reasons. In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition. After Jaitley underwent renal transplant on 14 May, 2018, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had to take over the portfolio of the finance ministry. The former finance minister, who had stopped attending office since early April 2018, was back in the finance ministry on 23 August, 2018.

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!

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 24, 2019

A lawyer by profession, Jaitley had been an important part of Modi’s cabinet during his first tenure as prime minister. He held the Finance and Defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter for the government. During his tenure as finance minister, Jaitley led the enactment of a bankruptcy code and a national goods and services tax law that had languished for almost 20 years. The implementation of the GST resulted in job losses for thousands of workers in small businesses, adding to his mixed record on economic management. Follow the latest news updates here During his tenure as finance minister, Jaitley led the enactment of a bankruptcy code and a national goods and services tax law that had languished for almost 20 years. The implementation of the GST resulted in job losses for thousands of workers in small businesses, adding to his mixed record on economic management. Jaitley’s demise comes days after the nation lost ex-foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. With inputs from ANI