Several political leaders visited former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Monday as reports claimed he continued to be on life support. Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and uneasiness.
Bharatiya Janata Party veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani on Monday visited AIIMS along with his daughter Pratibha Advani. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and BJP national general-secretary Arun Singh also went to to the hospital to see the 66 year old BJP leader.
AIIMS has not issued a bulletin on Jaitley’s health since August 10. A multidisciplinary team of doctors is consistently monitoring his condition, PTI reported.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Ram Vilas Paswan, Congress leaders Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh have visited the hospital in the past few days and met Jaitley’s family.
“I met Mr. Jaitley’s family members and I pray to God for his good health and fast recovery,” Kejriwal said.
On Friday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said, “Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can,” according to PTI. Other leaders who visited AIIMS’ cardio-neuro centre the same day were President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath.
Jaitley was the finance minister in the Narendra Modi-led government from 2014 to 2019. However, he was unable to present the Union Budget in February 2019 as he was away in the United States for treatment of an unknown disease.
After the Narendra Modi-led government returned to power in May with an increased majority, Jaitley told Modi he would not be part of the new government as he had faced some “serious health challenges” in the last 18 months. Jaitley had undergone a renal transplant on May 14 last year.
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