Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. (Virendra Singh Gosain/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Mourning over the demise of Arun Jaitley who was his former Minister for Finance and Defence, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi paid his tribute to the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Bahrain and lamented that he has lost one of his friends when he is so far away from him, reports NDTV.
Interacting with the Indian diaspora in the Kingdom of Bahrain, PM Modi said, "I cannot think that I am here in Bahrain and my dear friend Arun Jaitley is no more. Some days ago, we lost our former Defence Minister Behen Sushma Ji. Today my friend Arun left. He was a friend who stayed at every step."
Presently on a three-nation visit to France, UAE and Bahrain, PM Modi has been requested by Jaitley's family to not disrupt his tour for attending Jaitley's funeral which is to be held today at Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi.
Aged 66, Jaitley took his last breaths at AIIMS in Delhi where he had been fighting several health issues. he had been admitted at AIIMS on 9 August and had been in a critical state since, having been on life support ventilator system.
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