Former finance minister Arun Jaitley, who passed away on Saturday, will be cremated at the Nigambodh Ghat on Sunday afternoon. According to a Delhi BJP leader, Jaitley’s mortal remains will be brought to the party headquarters at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg here around 10.30 am for his admirers and followers to pay their last respects.
From the BJP headquarters, it will be taken to the Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna river for performing the last rites around 2.30pm, he said. Jaitley died at the AIIMS here at 12.07pm on Saturday. The 66-year-old leader was undergoing treatment at the hospital, where he was admitted on August 9.
After his demise at the hospital, the body was taken to his Kailash Colony residence. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, BJP chief Amit Shah, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and several politicians cutting across party lines offered floral tributes to Jaitley at his residence on Saturday.
Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on condoled the death of former Finance Minister saying that he attracted friends across the political spectrum and fought the cruel illness with indomitable spirit till the end.
In a letter to Jaitley’s wife, Sangeeta Jaitley, Sonia Gandhi said, “I am very sad to learn of the passing away of your beloved husband.” She said, Jaitley was a person who attracted friends and admirers across the political spectrum and every walk of life. “His sharp intellect and ability and his communication skills were evident in every cabinet position he held, in his role as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, and as a senior Advocate at the Supreme Court,” the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) a chairperson said.
She said, “Jaitley fought his cruel illness with great courage till the end. His passing is all the more tragic because he was so young, when he had so much more to contribute to national life.”
“Words are little consolation at this time of grief, but I wanted you, your son and your daughter to know that I share your pain. May Arunji find eternal peace,” she added. Jaitley, 66, passed away on Saturday afternoon at AIIMS where he had been admitted since August 9.