Jaitley on life support; several politicians visit AIIMS

Former finance minister Arun Jaitley has been put on life support system at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, sources said, as several leaders including Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister Piyush Goyal visited the hospital.

The 66-year-old leader, who was admitted at the hospital on August 9, has been put on life support system and a multidisciplinary team of doctors is monitoring his condition, the sources said.

The AIIMS has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health condition since August 10.

Several leaders visited the hospital to enquire about Jaitley's health including Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, Bharatiya Janata Party's Satish Upadhyay, Congress' Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Air Force chief Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, the sources said.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati also visited the hospital.

"I visited AIIMS today to enquire about the health condition of former finance and defence minister, and senior BJP leader Shri Arun Jaitley. I met his family and consoled them and prayed to the almighty that he recovers soon," Mayawati tweeted at 01.06 pm on Saturday.

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.

Jaitley was admitted to the hospital after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness.

In May this year, he 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 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.