Cricketing world pays tribute to former DDCA President Arun Jaitley

The month of August has come with some bad news for the Indian political scene. After the demise of BJP’s beloved leader Sushma Swaraj on August 6, now former finance minister and one of the most respected politicians of his time, Arun Jaitley too passed away at the age of 66 as confirmed by the AIIMS, New Delhi, on August 24, 2019.

Arun Jaitley was born on 28 December 1952 in Delhi and was a lawyer by profession. He was an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) student leader and was even jailed during the emergency imposed by then Indian PM Indira Gandhi.

He then joined Jan Sangh, which later became the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and later served in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet as well. Between 2009 and 2014, when the BJP sat in the Opposition benches, Arun Jaitley served as the Opposition Leader in the Rajya Sabha.

Jaitley- the go-to man for Narendra Modi in his first tenure as PM

Arun Jaitley became the go-to man for the newly formed Narendra Modi government in 2014 and held the portfolios of defence and finance during his tenure. He had presented the first budget of the Modi 1.0 government and continued to work despite ill-health as he had to undergo bariatric surgery to address the excess weight, he had gained due to diabetes in 2014.

He then had a kidney transplant in 2018 and requested Modi not to give him any new responsibilities in the second tenure of the government and didn’t contest the Lok Sabha elections 2019. He battled health issues which got serious on August 9, as he was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Science after complaining of breathlessness and restlessness.

Despite the care of Cardio-Neuro-Centre of the hospital, his condition worsened and according to the doctors, he was on life support last week and passed away at 12.07pm on August 24, as per official press release of the AIIMS. Moreover, apart from politics, he served the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) as president between 1999-2013. Arun Jaitley was also associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The news of his demise days after Swaraj’s death has come as a severe blow to everyone and even shocked the cricketing fraternity.

Here’s how the cricketing fraternity reacted: