Jaitley on life support, top leaders visit him at AIIMS

Former finance minister Arun Jaitley, who has been put on life support at a New Delhi hospital, is in a critical condition, hospital sources said yesterday.
Jaitley has been put on extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is used for patients whose lungs and heart are incapable of functioning on their own.
Several political leaders came to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to meet the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati too visited the hospital to meet Jaitley was admitted on August 9.
“Today I went to AIIMS to see former finance and defence minister Arun Jaitley to inquire about his health. There I met his family members and with them, I prayed to God for the speedy recovery of Jaitleyji,” she tweeted.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar flew to Delhi yesterday and directly went to the hospital from the airport.
Among other leaders, federal Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, and Congress leaders Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia also visited the hospital.
On Friday night, Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited AIIMS to meet the ailing leader.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and top BJP leaders have also visited the hospital.
Jaitley was taken to AIIMS after he complained of uneasiness and weakness. Owing to his health condition, Jaitley did not contest the elections this year nor did he take up a ministerial role.
Jaitley, a lawyer, had been an important part in Modi’s cabinet in the government’s first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the government.
He had a renal transplant in May 2018 at AIIMS with 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 his weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.