Former Minister remains critical
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and Ram Vilas Paswan visited All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Sunday to enquire about the health condition of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who was admitted there on August 9 after he complained of uneasiness and weakness.
Jaitley has been put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is used for patients whose lungs and heart are incapable of operating on their own, hospital sources said. The AIIMS administration has not released a single medical bulletin regarding his health condition since August 10.
“Visited Sh Arun Jaitley ji. I pray to God for his good health and fast recovery,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Other leaders, including Himachal Pradesh Governor Kalraj Mishra, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) joint general secretary Dr Krishna Gopal and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, also visited the hospital on Sunday.
Many prominent leaders have been visiting the hospital in recent days to know about his wellbeing. Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BSP president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, BJP’s Satish Upadhyay, Jammu & Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, Congress’ Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia and Air Force chief Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa visited the hospital on Saturday.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said on Friday, “Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can.” President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited AIIMS on Friday to check on the leader’s health.
In May this year, Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS for treatment. Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, had been an important part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet in the BJP Government’s first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the Government.
Jaitley did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections presumably because of his poor health. He had undergone a renal transplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal filling in for him in the Finance Ministry at that time. Jaitley, who had stopped attending office since early April last year, was back in the Finance Ministry on August 23, 2018. In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.
