Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley passes away at 66

BJP stalwart and former finance minister Arun Jaitley died on Saturday (August 24) at AIIMS. He was 66.

In a brief statement, the hospital said that Jaitley died at 12.07 pm. It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Arun Jaitley, former Finance Minister of Government of India, at 12.07 pm on August 24, the AIIMS said.

Jaitley was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on August 9 and was treated by a multi-disciplinary team of senior doctors. Hospital sources had earlier said that he was on life support.

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 did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election, because of his ill-health.

In May this year, Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS for treatment. 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.