LK Advani visits Arun Jaitley at AIIMS; former finance minister remains critical

Veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani visited AIIMS on Monday to enquire about the health of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as he remains on life support. The BJP patriarch was accompanied by his daughter Pratibha Advani.

Politicians continue to visit Arun Jaitley as his condition remains critical. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, and BJP national general secretary Arun Singh visited AIIMS on Monday.

Several prominent political leaders have visited Jaitley since he was admitted into the ICU at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on August 9. The 66-year-old BJP veteran was rushed to the hospital after he complained of uneasiness and breathing trouble. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had arrived at AIIMS soon after to check on his former Cabinet colleague.

ALSO READ: Arun Jaitley health: Former Finance Minister on life support; Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, several ministers visit

President Ram Nath Kovind, Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited Jaitley at AIIMS on Friday. Several other leaders including Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Jitendra Singh, Ram Vilas Paswan, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Congress leaders Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, BSP chief Mayawati and RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat have visited the hospital over the past ten days and met Jaitley's family members.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said on Friday, "Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can."

Jaitley's reportedly is on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) support. He is being observed by a multidisciplinary team of cardiologists, endocrinologists and nephrologists.

ALSO READ: Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on life support, top leaders visit AIIMS

Last year, Jaitley had to go to the United States for a kidney transplant, which kept him from his duties as the Finance Minister for a long time. In January, he was diagnosed with soft tissue cancer. He even had to skip the vote on account during the Budget session one month later. In September 2014, he had bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition. In 2005, he had undergone bypass surgery.

In May, he was once again admitted to AIIMS for treatment. Jaitley had not contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and had asked PM Modi to not bestow any responsibilities on him due to health reasons.

Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, was 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.

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(With PTI inputs)