Arun Jaitley to be cremated today, politicians pay last respects

A chief troubleshooter of the first Narendra Modi government, Arun Jaitley passed away at the age of 66 at AIIMS after losing the battle with protracted illness.

He breathed his last at 12:07 pm.

A lawyer by profession, Jaitley is survived by his wife Sangeeta, a son and a daughter who also joined the legal profession.

He was admitted to the AIIMS on August 9 with complaints of breathing problems.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several politicians across various parties mourned his death and paid their tributes.

Remembering his bonding with Jaitley, Modi, who was in Bahrain on Saturday, tweeted an emotional post, "With the demise of Arun Jaitley Ji, I have lost a valued friend, whom I have had the honour of knowing for decades. His insight on issues and nuanced understanding of matters had very few parallels. He lived well, leaving us all with innumerable happy memories. We will miss him!"

Commenting on Jaitley's association with the ruling BJP, the Prime Minister said in a separate tweet, "BJP and Arun Jaitley Ji had an unbreakable bond. As a fiery student leader, he was at forefront of protecting our democracy during the Emergency. He became a much liked face of our Party, who could articulate the Party programmes and ideology to a wide spectrum of society."

Meanwhile, several visitors continued to come at Jaitley's Delhi residence to pay their last tributes for the veteran leader.

Senior Congress leader Motilal Vohra, NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, RLD leader Ajit Singh and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu visited his home on Sunday.

Presently, his mortal remains has been kept at the BJP headquarters, where party leaders will pay last respects till 1 pm.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP Working President JP Nadda also paid their tributes on Sunday.

Between 1 pm and 2:30 pm, a funeral procession will be carried out from the BJP office to the Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of Yamuna river. The last rites will take place at 2:30 pm.

The 1952 born Jaitley had undergone a renal transplant last year and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal handled the portfolio of Finance for sometime.

Due to his ill health, Jaitley could not present the last budget of the Modi government's first term in February and the task was passed on to Piyush Goyal. Also the senior politician, who was the finance minister when Modi announced the controversial demonetisation move in 2016, opted out of the second Modi innings in New Delhi owing to his illness.

The death of Jaitley came as a big setback to the BJP after the passing away of another top leader, Sushma Swaraj. Both were considered the liberal faces of the Hindu nationalist BJP known for its hard line HIndutva beliefs derived from its ideological parent, the RSS.