ANS: Arun Jaitley, senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister, breathed his last on Saturday afternoon after battling a long illness. He was 66; survived by his wife Sangeeta and two children Rohan and Sonali.
He took his last breath at 12:07 pm at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where he was admitted on August 9 following complaints of breathlessness and restlessness.
The former Union minister will be cremated on Sunday afternoon at Nigambodh Ghat, BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal said. On Sunday morning, his body will be taken to the BJP headquarters where leaders across the political spectrum are expected to pay their last respects.
Jaitley was unwell for the last two years, particularly after he underwent a kidney transplant surgery last year. In 2014, Jaitley had undergone a Bariatric surgery to address the excess weight he had gained due to diabetes. “It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon’ble Member of Parliament & Former Finance Minister, Government of India at 12:07 pm on 24th August, 2019,” the AIIMS said in a statement here.
Expressing grief over the demise of Jaitley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in UAE, tweeted, “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. We will miss him!”