Arun Jaitley quits as FinMin citing health reasons
With a day left for Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony as the Prime Minister of India for the 2nd consecutive term, the outgoing Finance Minister of India – Arun Jaitley has decided to call it a day and not to take any active responsibility in the 17th Lok Sabha.
In a letter to the Modi, Arun Jaitley has cited his health condition as a reason for not taking up any active role. Prior to this, after the election campaign was over and Modi was heading for a pilgrimage to Kedarnath, Jaitley had informally informed him about his decision. But a formal letter has come today, i.e., Wednesday, May 29, 2019.
Jaitley wrote in his letter, “I am writing to you to formally request you that I should be allowed a reasonable time for myself, my treatment and my health, and therefore, not be a part of any responsibility, for the present, in the new government.”
He also thanked Modi by saying that it was an honour and a great learning experience for him to be part of the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government.
For the records, in January 2019, just before the Interim Budget, Piyush Goyal was appointed Interim Finance Minister, as Arun Jaitley was undergoing treatment in U.S. Jaitley, who is one of the most prominent leaders in the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was also not seen during the celebrations at BJP Headquarters when the results of General Elections were declared on May 23, 2019. He is keeping a low profile and has not been seen at any public places for the past 2 weeks. However, he is much active on social media, making tweets and publishing blogs.
A lawyer by profession, Jaitley was the man who steered through Parliament’s major economic legislation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). When BJP came to power in 2014, he was given 3 Ministries – Finance, Defence and Information & Broadcasting. A diabetic by health, Jaitley’s health deteriorated after he underwent a kidney transplant in May 2018.
With speculations riding high on who would be the new Finance Minister of India, the incoming Minister will be having a huge task ahead to reviving the economy as the economy is showing signs of a slowdown after 3 consecutive years of 7% plus growth.
