24 August,2019 03:35 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Arun Jaitley. Pic.Twitter IANS
On Saturday, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi condoled the death of former Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. While expressing her grief and extending her condolence to his family, Sonia said that Jaitley's contribution to public life will forever be remembered.
In an official statement, Sonia Gandhi expressed deep pain and distress at the untimely passing away of Jaitley. Paying homage to the late BJP leader, Gandhi said that Jaitley had a long innings as a public figure, Parliamentarian and Minister and his contributions to public life will forever be remembered.
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Former Finance Minister and veteran BJP leader Arun Jaitley passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was 66 and is survived by his wife and son. Earlier in this month, Jaitley was admitted to the AIIMS and was placed under observation at the hospital's Cardio-Neuro-Centre.
A lawyer by profession, Jaitley had been an important leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and held the Finance Ministry post in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet during his first tenure. from 2014 to 2019. Recently, Jaitley had opted out of contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections earlier this year owing to health reasons.
Jaitley had also stopped attending office since early April 2018 after he underwent a renal transplant in May 2018 but was later back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018. The 66-year-old politician also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 2009-2014. Besides being a politician, Jaitley was also a senior advocate at the Supreme Court.
With inputs from IANS
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