Jaitley on life support; Nitish Kumar, Piyush Goyal, Jyotiraditya Scindia visit AIIMS

New Delhi, August 17

Several politicians visited AIIMS here on Saturday to enquire about the health condition of former finance minister Arun Jaitley who has been put on life support system, sources said.

Among those who visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences were Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, and Congress leaders Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, BJP's Satish Upadhyay and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa.

The 66-year-old leader has been put on life support system and a multidisciplinary team of doctors is monitoring his condition, they said.

BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati also visited the hospital.

"I visited AIIMS today to enquire about the health condition of former finance and defence minister, and senior BJP leader Shri Arun Jaitley. I met his family and consoled them and prayed to the almighty that he recovers soon," Mayawati tweeted at 01.06 pm on Saturday.

Vardhan had said on Friday: "Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can". President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited AIIMS on Friday to check on the leader's health.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences has not issued any bulletin on Jaitley's health condition since August 10. Jaitley was admitted on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness. In May this year, he was admitted to AIIMS for treatment.

Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, had been an important part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the BJP government's first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the government.

Jaitley did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election presumably because of his ill-health.

He had undergone a renal transplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal filling in for him in the finance ministry at that time.  Jaitley, who had stopped attending office since early April last year, was back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018.

In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition. PTI