Delhi, August 25: Former Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was cremated with full state honours at Nigam Bodh ghat crematorium on Sunday as VIPs and thousands of people bid teary-eyed farewell to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart.  The last rites were performed by his son Rohan. Arun Jaitley died on Saturday due to organ failure. The 66-year-old leader breathed her last at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Arun Jaitley Dies at 66: Here's a Look at The Political Career of the Former Finance Minister And Senior BJP Leader.

Jaitley's mortal remains were brought at BJP headquarters in Delhi where Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and Harsh Vardhan, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, BJP working president JP Nadda arrived to pay their respects. Many opposition leaders also paid their last respects to the BJP leader. Arun Jaitley Dies at 66: Former FM Was PM Narendra Modi's Go-To Man Who Had Friends on Both Sides of the Aisle.

In a series of tweets, PM Modi lauded Jaitley for his services and said that he had lost a valued friend. "With the demise of Arun Jaitley Ji, I have lost a valued friend, whom I have had the honour of knowing for decades. His insight on issues and nuanced understanding of matters had very few parallels. He lived well, leaving us all with innumerable happy memories. We will miss him!" he tweeted.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP leader LK Advani were present at Nigambodh Ghat to pay their last respects. Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar, Devendra Fadnavis, BS Yediyurappa, Arvind Kejriwal also attended the funeral.

Jaitley, a senior advocate of Supreme Court, had been an important part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet in his first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios. During his tenure as a finance minister, he brought the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and bankruptcy code.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2019 03:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).