Shri Arun Jaitley’s Journey from a Student Union President to a Cabinet Minister.
“It’s hard to forget someone who gave us so much to remember” – Indeed, today the nation lost a person who was a political inspiration, legal luminary and above all a good human being. He passed away at 12.07 pm at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). His age was 66.
Arun Jaitley was born on December 28, 1952. His father was a lawyer. He did his schooling from St.Xavier’s School, New Delhi. He graduated in commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi in 1973 and passed his law degree from the University of Delhi in 1977. He was an active and prominent Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) student activist in the Delhi University in the seventies and he became the President of Delhi University Student Union in 1974. In 1975 at the time of Emergency, he raised his voice against this undemocratic step. He organized a protest against the emergency and in the consequence of the act, he was arrested and was jailed for 19 months in Tihar Jail. He has a significant role in the 1977 General Elections in which the congress saw defeat. In 1977 general elections he acted as the national convenor of the Loktantrik Yuva Morcha that was made to campaign for the Janta Party. On May 24, 1982, he married to Sangeeta Jaitley. On June 27, 1983, his daughter Sonali Jaitley was born( who is now working as a lawyer). On January 31, 1989, his son Rohan Jaitley was born (who is now a lawyer by profession).
He started his Law Practice in New Delhi, he started from the trial court and ended with practicing before the Supreme Court of India. In January 1990, he was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court. In the same year, he was appointed as the Additional Solicitor General of India. He entrusted the BOFORs case, which had shaken the nation at that time. The investigation in BOFORs was very unique because for the first time foreign transactions were investigated on such a large scale. He was a delegate on behalf of the Government of India to United Nations General Assembly Session in 1998 where the Declaration on Laws Relating to Drugs and Money Laundering was approved. In 1999, he was elected as the President of the Delhi District Cricket Association. In 2009, he was elected as the Vice President of the BCCI.
He became the member of the National
Executive of Bhartiya Janata Party in 1991. In 2000, he was elected to Rajya
Sabha and was appointed Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting
(Independent Charge) in the Vajpayee Government. He also took additional charge
of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs on 23rd July 2000.
In November 2000 he became Cabinet Minister. He was appointed as General
Secretary of BJP in 2002. In 2003, As Commerce Minister, he led the Indian
Delegation for the WTO Conference in Cancurn, Mexico. He was re-elected to
Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in 2006. He was chosen as the Leader of the opposition
in Rajya Sabha on 3rd July 2009.
In 2012, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. He was again
recognized as the Leader of Opposition.
In 2014 BJP came into power with full majority and under the leadership of
Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley was appointed Minister of Finance, Minister of
Defence and Minister of Corporate Affairs. After a few months in the same year,
he assumed office as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Major
developments and events happened during his tenure including Demonetization and
GST. In 2018, he was re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. After 2019
General Elections he was not given any responsibility because of his health.
His will be cremated tomorrow. The funeral will be done at Nigambodh Ghat before the funeral his body will be kept at BJP office.
Submitted By –
Bibhanshu Mishra
Student Reporter, INBA.