Former FM Arun Jaitley Continues to Be On Life Support At AIIMS

Jaitley, 66, is critical and a multidisciplinary team of doctors is supervising his treatment.

(Photo: PTI)

Several politicians including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union minister Piyush Goyal, and Congress leaders Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia visited AIIMS here on Saturday to enquire about the health condition of former finance minister Arun Jaitley who has been put on life support system, sources said.

Others who visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to enquire about his health are Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, BJP's Satish Upadhyay and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa.

Vardhan had said on Friday, "Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can." President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited AIIMS on Friday to check on the leader's health.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health condition since August 10. Jaitley was admitted on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness.  In May this year, he was admitted to AIIMS for treatment.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati visited former Union minister Arun Jaitley at the AIIMS in Delhi on Saturday, 17 August, and enquired about his health.

According to sources, Jaitley, 66, is critical and a multidisciplinary team of doctors is supervising his treatment. He is admitted at the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU).

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health condition since August 10. Jaitley was admitted on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness.

"Went to AIIMS to enquire about the health condition of BJP veteran and former defence and finance minister Arun Jaitley. Met his family members to comfort them and prayed for his early recovery," Mayawati, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, tweeted.

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 election presumably because of his ill-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

(With inputs from PTI)