Arun Jaitley, former finance minister and BJP stalwart, dies at 66

NEW DELHI:Former Union finance minister Arun Jaitley died of multiple organ failure at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Saturday afternoon. He was 66.

A stalwart of the BJP, Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS on August 9, after he complained of uneasiness, Hidustan Times reported.

A press release by AIIMS’ Media and Protocol Division said Jaitley died at 12:07 pm this afternoon.

“It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon’ble Member of Parliament and Former Finance Minister, Government of India at 12:07 pm on 24th August, 2019. Shri Arun Jaitley was admitted in AIIMS, New Delhi on 09/08/2019 and was treated by a multidisciplinary team of senior Doctors,” read the press release.

Arun Jaitley was admitted into AIIMS’ intensive care unit (ICU) and was treated by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors after he complained of uneasiness; he was put on life-support system after his condition deteriorated.

Jaitley had opted out of the government citing poor health when the second National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath.