Former Finance Minister and BJP lawmaker Arun Jaitley passed away on Saturday, August 24, 2019, after being admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi on August 9. The hospital issued a statement recently announcing that Arun Jaitley expired at 12:07 pm. Several celebrities and political leaders have grieved the loss. Many of them have taken to social media to extend condolences.

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Renowned Indian chef Vikas Khanna put out a post on social media paying homage to Arun Jaitley. Vikas Khanna who happens to be knowing Arun Jaitley personally shared a picture with him on Instagram as he mourned the death of the veteran political leader. Extending condolences, Vikas Khanna thanked the BJP lawmaker for supporting him and being his 'favorite critic'. He also called Jaitley 'the greatest champion of his cooking'.

Here's the post:

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Arun Jaitley battling illness

Arun Jaitley, 66, was battling prolonged illness and was admitted to AIIMS on August 9th this year. He was visited by several top leaders of the country since his admission. President Kovind visited AIIMS on the day of his admission to the hospital, PM Modi visited him immediately after his return to the country from Bhutan. Union Minister Home Minister Amit Shah was also present in the hospital on August 11.

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Arun Jaitley's political journey

Arun Jaitley had been a part of active politics since from the time he was a student. He was a member of the ABVP and served as the President of the Delhi University Students Union in 1974. Like a number of his contemporaries in the BJP, Arun Jaitley was put under preventive custody for fighting the Emergency as part of the JP movement, the clampdown on him lasting 19 months. Later, he rose to become the president of the Delhi ABVP and its All India Secretary.

READ | Former Union Minister Arun Jaitley Passes Away At AIIMS In New Delhi

Arun Jaitley is best known for having served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs in the first Narendra Modi government has also held portfolios of Defence and Information and Broadcasting. It was Arun Jaitley who rolled out the GST in 2017 which saw India becoming a unified market for goods and services for the first time, and was also the first chairman of the GST council, is widely credited for forging consensus leading to the Constitutional amendment that eventually passed the GST Bill.