India remembers Arun Jaitley, the former finance minister and one of the most admired politicians of the country, on his 69th birth anniversary – 28 December.
Jaitley was born in 1952 in New Delhi. His father Maharaj Kishen Jaitley was a lawyer and his mother Ratan Prabha Jaitley was a homemaker. After studying at St Xavier’s Senior Secondary School, he graduated with honours degree in commerce (BCom) from Shri Ram College of Commerce. In 1977, he passed his Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
The former finance minister will always be remembered for his oratory skills, friendly behaviour and as a compassionate leader.
Few facts about Arun Jaitley:
Arun Jaitley was under preventive detention for 19 months, during the period of Emergency. He was also a significant leader of the Bihar Movement against corruption that was launched in 1973.
Since 1991, Jaitley had been a member of the National Executive of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Later in 1999, he became the spokesperson of BJP during the preceding of the general Election.
During his tenure as the Minister of Law and Justice in 2002, he successfully introduced the 44th amendment to the Constitution in India. From 2009-2014, Jaitley served as the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha.
The government had demonitised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes during Jaitley’s tenure as the finance minister. During that time, he supervised and directed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that allowed the country to come under one-tax regime.
Jaitley passed away in August, 2019 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. After his death, he was awarded the country’s second highest Civilian Award in the field of Public Affairs – Padma Vibhushan.
Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium was also renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium and a statue of him at the stadium was unveiled by Home Minister Amit Shah.