Arun Jaitley, former Union minister and BJP stalwart, passes away at 66
Monday, August 26, 2019 IST
HIGHLIGHTS
• Jaitley was rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness.
• Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, had been a key member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the BJP government's first term.
• He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the government.
Jaitley, 66, was undergoing treatment at the hospital for several weeks.
"It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Arun Jaitley," the AIIMS said in a brief statement.
Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, had been an important part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the BJP government's first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the government.
Jaitley did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election presumably because of his ill-health.
He had undergone a renal transplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal filling in for him in the finance ministry at that time.
Jaitley, who had stopped attending office since early April last year, was back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018.
In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.
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