Arun Jaitley, informally known as “scholar minister”, former finance minister and Bhartiya Janta Party stalwart died on Sat 24, 2018 at 12:07 pm while he was admitted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Jaitley had been the go-to man for Modi for his tenure from 2014 to 2019 but decided not to be part of Modi 2.0 because of health issues. A lawyer by training he was a minster in the Atal Bihari Bajpayee Government and Modi once described him as “a precious diamond”.
The relationship between Modi and Jaitley dates long back when Modi was appointed as the pracharak of RSS, he stayed in Jaitley’s official bungalow, 9, Ashoka Road. He is believed to be part of the move to oust Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and install Modi. He also backed Modi over the outcry of Gujarat riots in 2002.
Coming from the family of lawyers, Jaitley did his education from Delhi University, where he was the President of the Delhi University Student’s Association. He was also one of the people to get into jail during the emergency.
WHY JAIL?
On June 25, 1975, Emergency was proclaimed, arrest orders were sent out to him but he managed to escape. But, on the next day, he burnt an effigagy of Indira Gandhi along with some people and got arrested.
“I technically became the first ‘satyagrahi’ against the Emergency because on 26 June, this was the only protest in the country. For three months, I was at Ambala Jail, said Jaitley”. This has been quoted in his book, “Defining India: Through their eyes”.
In 1999, when National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came into existence, he was appointed as a minister by Vajpayee and over the years handled law, information, and broadcasting, disinvestment, shipping, and industry portfolio.
He was the man behind explaining the global context of rising fuel prices, articulated the complex Rafael deal, and steered through Parliament major economic legislations such as the nationwide Goods and Services Tax – which had languished for nearly two decades.
On 29 May 2019, in a letter to Prime Minister Modi, Arun Jaitley cited his health as a reason for not taking an active role in the formation of the new government, effectively declining a role as a minister in the second term of Prime Minister Mod
India Today has launched its version to pay tributes to Arun Jaitley. You can do here –
This man also has his own website, where you can know so much more about him – TheArunJaitley
Tanubhrt.This.Side 
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