New Delhi: Senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley passed away at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) today after prolonged illness. He was 66.
Jaitley was admitted to the premier hospital on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness. The veteran leader was on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), which is used to treat breathing or heart problem.
Jaitley, who often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the Modi government, did not contest the Lok Sabha elections 2019 because of his ill-health.
The BJP leader stopped attending office in April 2018. 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. He was back in the finance ministry in August 2018.
In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.