Congress leaders express grief on Jaitley's demise

Senior Congress leaders KTS Tulsi, PL Punia and Tariq Anwar expressed profound grief over the demise of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and remembered him as a politician who shared good relations with all leaders across the party line.

"He was full of life right until the end. He had contributed a lot to the nation and mankind. I remember him very fondly because he was the one who accepted me with open arms when I came here as Additional Solicitor General in 1990 and I was allotted the same room which he occupied previously," said KTS Tulsi.

"I don't know whether he loved politics more or his profession. He was always so nostalgic about his legal profession. I remember when he became the leader of the opposition he kept on wondering whether he should continue his practice or his responsibility as leader of the opposition. Ultimately he decided that since the leader of opposition enjoys the rank of a cabinet minister, therefore, it would not be proper for him to continue, but whenever we met he always wanted to know what is going on in the legal field," added Tulsi.

 

Congress leader Tariq Anwar said that Jaitley played a major role in taking BJP out of trouble on many occasions.

"We had ideological differences with him but he was a good orator, parliamentarian and lawyer and had a deep interest in sports. He played a major role in taking BJP out of trouble on many occasions. Arun Jaitley was always with Narendra Modi in every situation and played a major role in Narendra Modi becoming prime minister. It must be the personal loss to Prime Minister," said Anwar.

PL Punia said that Jaitley's presence was felt wherever he went as he shared good relations with media persons and leaders from other political parties.

"His presence was felt where he went. He had good relations not only with BJP leaders but with media persons and leaders from other political parties," said PL Punia.

Jaitley passed away in New Delhi at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was 66.

A four-time member of Rajya Sabha, he became a Cabinet minister in the government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. He was Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from June 2009 to 2014.

Jaitley was Finance and Corporate Affairs minister in the first term of Modi government and also held portfolios of Defence and Information and Broadcasting.