'Arun Jaitley brought felicity to public discourse': PM Modi remembers late BJP leader

Arun Jaitley h rare quality of being able to simplify complex issues and brought felicity to public discourse, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a foreword of a new book on former finance minister.

In foreword of book 'A New India', which was released on occasion of his death anniversary on Wednesday, Prime Minister wrote that Jaitley was a multi-faceted personality - a friend to many, an excellent legal mind, an effective minister and a consummate communicator.

forword was written by Modi on November 19, 2019. 

book is a compilation of selected writings between 2014-2019 by late Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley, first finance minister of Modi government, died on August 24, 2019, at age of 66 years.

"re is one side of Mr Jaitley that stands out as extremely important because re have been very few like him. As a public intellectual with an immense grasp on policy issues, he brought a unique quality of felicity to public discourse that is very important for a vibrant democracy," Modi wrote.

Stating that only a few have a natural interest in complex policy issues and a fewer who can grasp m, he said those who can reduce complex issues and explain m in a simple manner are rarest of rare. "Arun Jaitley, in this aspect, was one of his kind".

Prime Minister lauded Jaitley for bringing a unique point of view to debates and for his brilliant analyses.

On blogs that Jaitley wrote beginning September 2013, he said, "Unsparing of UPA's misgovernance, he wrote about ruling coalition's leership crisis, ir economic mismanagement, and corruption".

As 2014 general elections approached, his writing became more prolific.

He recalled Jaitley's blogs on revocation of Article 370 in J-K of November 2013 and his final blog in August 2019 on same subject.

"For any youth looking to imbibe importance of understanding public policy, Arun Jaitley's blog is a goldmine. sheer range of issues he elaborated upon, re was something valuable in every blog," he said.

As a minister, Jaitley was one of most reliable voices to pierce through fog and make important points on outlook of government, he said.

"Personally speaking, reing Arun Jaitley's blog makes me nostalgic about loss of not only a friend but also a brilliant mind that always put its intellect in service of nation," Modi concluded.