BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley dies at 66

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 24

Former Union minister and BJP leader Arun Jaitley passed away this afternoon after prolonged illness. He was 66 and is survived by his wife  Sangeeta, a son and a daughter. He also leaves behind countless friends and admirers from various walks of life.

Admitted to AIIMS on August 9 and battling a difficult medical condition, Jaitley breathed his last at 12.07 pm. Last May, Jaitley underwent renal transplant and recovered only to be afflicted by a life-threatening disease.

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His body was taken to his Kailash Colony residence. Tomorrow, it will be kept at the BJP headquarters before being taken for cremation at Nigambodh Ghat after 2 pm.

President Ram Nath Kovind reached Jaitley’s residence, leading the nation in paying homage to the departed leader, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up his family to express condolences, who also requested him not to curtail his official overseas visit.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, on a tour of South India, decided to curtail his visit and return to Delhi, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid respects both on his behalf and that of the PM, as did BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Leaders from other political parties, including the Congress, were among those who laid wreaths on the body while his erstwhile Cabinet colleagues remembered Jaitley as a friend and guide as they navigated through the complexities of governance. Tributes pouring in from within and foreign missions bore testimony to the lasting contribution he made to the society — as a politician, parliamentarian, jurist, sports aficionado and an engaging conversationalist. He was the quintessential Dilliwalah who loved delectable food and a customary walk in Lodhi Gardens, regaling friends and morning walkers with “kisse,  kahani”.

Born on December 28, 1952, Jaitley announced his arrival on the national scene as a sharp legal brain pursuing the Bofors case in 1989-90 as the Additional Solicitor General, 15 years after he made a foray into politics as a student leader.

In 1974, he was elected president of the Delhi University Students Union, a phase that saw him being drawn into the vortex of movement against corruption launched by Jayaprakash Narayan and being later incarcerated for 19 months during Emergency.

Having spent time with stalwarts in the Opposition, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jaitley was moulded as a liberal who accommodated views of various shades without being offended by those who differed on issues.

He served the Vajpayee government as Minister of Information and Broadcasting and later as Law Minister, and then during 2009-2014 as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, leading a sharp attack against the government of Manmohan Singh, a person whom he admired otherwise, and modelled himself as the Finance Minister in Modi 1.0.

His indispensability led to PM Modi trusting him with both Defence and Finance, a period when the government announced the Rafale deal, decided to demonetise and enact far-reaching tax reform, including GST.

In his death, the second generation of leaders built by Vajpayee and Advani is vanishing. And perhaps it may not be out of place to call him one of the Last of the Mohicans of that era.

HAVE LOST VALUED FRIEND: PM

With the demise of Arun Jaitley, I have lost a valued friend, whom I have had the honour of knowing for decades. His insight on issues, nuanced understanding of matters had very few parallels. He lived well, leaving us all with innumerable happy memories. We will miss him! Narendra Modi, Prime Minister