Residents recount Jaitley’s memories

AIIMS, airport are his two gifts to citySukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 24

As the news of the demise of the senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley came, city residents and BJP leaders recounted Jaitley’s visit to the city to attend ‘vikas parv’ rally on June 19 in 2016.

Speaking in chaste Punjabi at the rally, Jaitley had said: “Our biggest achievement, during the last two years is that not a single scam worth mentioning has been reported.”

For the city, Jaitley had announced that the Ministry of Finance would sanction funds for the proposed AIIMS in a week. The work for the medical institute is going on in full swing. At present, the former minister had also promised to look into issues of Bathinda and Adampur Airports as part of the new policy on economy flights for smaller cities. In 2016 end, the Bathinda airport was made operation and a Air India flight from Bathinda to New Delhi was started.

After the rally, the then union finance minister Arun Jaitley also had a lunch with the SAD-BJP leaders and city residents at Sepal Hotel in the city and had a conversation with city-based party leaders.

Union Minister and MP from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal has tweeted on Friday: “Arun Jaitley ji’s passing has left a void for all of us. A distinguished parliamentarian and a visionary, Jaitley ji won people’s respect by his unflinching efforts for public welfare and national building. May Gurusahib grant peace to the departed soul and strength to the family.”

BJP leader and state media co-incharge Sunil Singla, who was also the media in-charge of Arun Jaitely during Amritsar parliamentary election in 2014, said: “Arun Jaitley was a bold and fearless person, with a very positive mindset. He was intelligent and used to apply his mind to every single thing. Moreover, he was always ready for both negative and positive results. His demise has come as a huge setback for the nation”.

Senior Deputy Mayor and BJP leader Tarsem Goyal said: “Arun Jaitley visited the city in 2016. He was a great personality, both a great politician and a lawyer. His demise is a huge loss for the country as well as the party.”