New Delhi: Former Union finance minister and the Man Friday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has passed away on August 24 at AIIMS at the age of 66. He was in the hospital for the past one week after he had complained of uneasiness.

The former finance minister had opted out of the Modi 2.0 government due to his poor health despite the PM wanting him to be part of his team. Jaitley has had a history of medical conditions with diabetes and kidney ailments. He got his kidney transplant done last year in May besides bariatric surgery in September 2014.

Jaitley has been credited with realizing the potential of Narendra Modi in the BJP and they stayed together through all thick and thin. Modi handed him over finance, defence and corporate affairs portfolios in his cabinet in 2014 showing his unconditional trust on him.

Jaitley has been a big support to the government on many political, legal and many other issues. It is not only a big setback to the BJP but also to the government as he was always available with his suggestion to the government for any crisis.