Veteran BJP leader LK Advani on Saturday laid a wreath on the mortal remains of former union minister Arun Jaitley, who passed away earlier today after a prolonged illness.
The BJP patriarch was accompanied by his daughter Pratibha Advani to pay floral tribute to Jaitley at his residence in Delhi's Kailash Colony.
Earlier in the day, Advani expressed grief over the demise of Jaitley, describing him as a food lover who never failed to recommend good restaurants.
"As a person, Arunji will be remembered as a soft-spoken, erudite and warm-hearted person. A food lover, he never failed to recommend good restaurants to me," he said in a statement.
Advani said that Jaitley was an outstanding parliamentarian and a great administrator, besides being a big luminary in the legal arena.
"A dedicated party worker for decades, he was someone who was inducted into the BJP core team when I was Party President and he soon rose to become one of the most prominent leaders of the party," he said.
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"Arun ji was known and respected for his sharp, analytical mind and everyone in the BJP always depended on him for finding solutions to complex issues," the veteran leader stressed.
The former finance minister was admitted to the AIIMS earlier this month after he complained of restlessness. He was placed under observation at the hospital's Cardio-Neuro-Centre.
Several leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other top BJP and Congress leaders had continued to visit Jaitley who was kept on life-support.
Jaitley first became a cabinet minister in the government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. He then also went on to serve as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from June 2009.
He was appointed the finance minister in the first term of Modi government in 2014. He opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing health reasons.