In Photos: A Tribute to Lawyer, Politician & Foodie, Arun Jaitley

From being a student leader to ushering economic measures, Arun Jaitley has had a checkered career. 

(Photo: PTI/ Altered by The Quint)

(This article has been republished from The Quint’s archives to mark Arun Jaitley’s death anniversary.)

After battling a long illness, former Finance Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart Arun Jaitley passed away at AIIMS, New Delhi, on Saturday, 24 August.

With the modest beginnings of a student leader, Jaitley rose through the ranks and went on to become one of the BJP’s most-respected trouble-shooters. Here’s a look at his eventful life journey in pictures.

In this undated handout photo sourced from ABVP, we see Arun Jaitley after being elected Delhi University Students Union President in 1974 in New Delhi.

A promising lawyer, Jaitley became the youngest Additional Solicitor General of India in 1989.

In this 25 August 2004 file photo, former Union Minister Arun Jaitley leaves the Calcutta High Court where he appeared as B K Birla’s solicitor in the case relating to Priyamvada Birla’s purported will in Kolkata.

But the bright lawyer didn’t confine himself to courtrooms and became a part of the BJP government in October 1999.

In this 12 October 2001 file photo, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is having a conversation with then Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley, in New Delhi.

A remarkable leader, Jaitley was known for his deep network across the political aisle.

In this 3 August 2011 file photo, then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley are at the release of the book ‘Indian Mujahideen’, authored by Shishir Gupta, in New Delhi.

This 2 October 2015 file photo shows Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after paying tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Mahatma Gandhi on their birth anniversary at Parliament House, in New Delhi.

In this 18 January 2015 file photo, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is with AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa, at her Poes Garden residence in Chennai.

This 16 February 2016 file photo shows Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley, Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and CPI leader D Raja after an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at South Block in New Delhi.

In the 2014 General Elections, Jaitley became the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Amritsar in Punjab. He even brought a house there, anticipating a win.

Arun Jaitley addressing a rally ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Punjab.

Although he lost to the Congress’ Captain Amarinder Singh, the BJP nominated Jaitley to the Rajya Sabha and made him the finance minister.

Then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley poses with the customary suitcase before presenting his maiden budget in 2014.

As finance minister, Jaitley constantly defended the PM Modi-led government’s controversial decision to outlaw a portion currency notes in November 2016. He was, in a sense, the government’s primary trouble-shooter.

PM Modi with Arun Jaitley in an undated picture.

Jaitley was also credited with ushering in the government’s ambitious Goods and Services Tax.

In this 30 June 2017 file photo, then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hits the GST Bell at India Today’s Conclave on GST, in New Delhi.

“Needless to say, I am a Punjabi by birth and culture, and as any good Punjabi will tell you, changa khana te changa paana (You must eat and dress well),” wrote Jaitley, for Outlook magazine in 2010. Although a diabetic, Jaitley’s love for food was immense.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at the halwa ceremony to mark the commencement of the Budget-printing process for Budget 2017-18, in New Delhi, on 19 January 2017.

In this 28 December 2014 file photo, then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is having a cup of tea with morning walkers on his 62nd birthday at the Lodhi Garden in New Delhi.

Not just in law and politics, Jaitley kept an active interest in cricket and had served as the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association from 1999 to 2013.

In this 3 March 2005 file photo, Supreme Court Bar Association team member Arun Jaitley is in action during a friendly cricket match against chief justice eleven at Firoz Shah Kotla.

Arun Jaitley (1952-2019)