An esteemed lawyer, a senior politician and man with absolute clarity -- Late Arun Jaitley -- would have turned 67-years-old on Saturday. The senior Supreme Court lawyer was only considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but was the brain behind taking challenging schemes during the BJP government at Centre -- 2014-2019. Jaitley had held the cabinet portfolios of Finance, Defence, Corporate Affairs, Commerce and Industry, and Law and Justice in the Vajpayee government, as well as in Narendra Modi government.

Looking at the career graph of one of the tallest and sharpest politician of all times, Jaitley was the brain behind introduction of the Goods and Services Tax which brought the country under one GST regime in the first tenure of Modi government. Also, merger of Railway budget with general budget, demonetisation and introduction of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code are some of the remarkable achievements under his name. Arun Jaitley Dies at 66: Former FM Was PM Narendra Modi's Go-To Man Who Had Friends on Both Sides of the Aisle.

Arun Jaitley: The Student

Graduated with the honours degree in commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi in 1973, Jaitley passed his LLB degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi in 1977 -- when the country was under 'Internal Emergency'. However, his political career began in 1974 as student leader -- representing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) -- at the Delhi University Campus. Following his protest against the emergency, he under preventive detention for a period of 19 months. After Being released from jail, Jaitley joined Jan Sangh and in 1977, appointed the president of the Delhi ABVP and All India Secretary of the ABVP. later he was promoted as president of the youth wing and then became the secretary of the Delhi Unit in 1980.

Arun Jaitley: A Professional Lawyer

Since 1980's, Jaitley had been practising law in the Supreme Court of India and several HCs in India and was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Delhi HC in 1990. The VP Singh government in 1989, appointed him Additional Solicitor General and asked him to do the paperwork for the investigations into the Bofors scandal. In June 1998, he was appointed as the Government of India's delegate to the United Nations General Assembly Session, which approved the Declaration on Laws Relating to Drugs and Money Laundering. With handling political duties as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and his practice of law at the same time, Jaitley decided to say a good bye to courts and its proceedings in June 2009.

Arun Jaitley: Political Career

Under the leadership of (Late) Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999, he was given the Independent Charge of Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and became Minister of State for Disinvestment. In 2000, he was given the additional charge of Union Cabinet Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs. Later was also appointed as first Minister of Shipping.

From 2004-2014, Jaitley debated on several issues as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha -- be it Women's Reservation Bill, Jan Lokpal Bill, among others. For the first time in his political career, Jaitley fought for the Lok Sabha from Amritsar seat in 2014, but was defeated by Congress candidate Captain Amarinder Singh. However, he was made the Union Minister of Finance, the Minister for Corporate Affairs and the Minister of Defence in the first cabinet of PM Narendra Modi. Arun Jaitley Dies at 66: Here's a Look at The Political Career of the Former Finance Minister And Senior BJP Leader.

During his stint as Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley took some tough decisions and announced the Income declaration scheme on September 2016. Also, oversaw the implementation of GST and on June 20, 2017, he roll-out of GST overseen by him was on track. It is said that the powerful orator was the mastermind behind Modi government's demonetisation scheme.

Arun Jaitley: Deteriorating Health

With multiple responsibilities on his shoulders, the health deteriorated and he underwent multiple surgeries. He underwent a coronary artery bypass surgery in 2005, a gastric bypass surgery in 2014, and finally a a kidney transplant surgery in May 2018. In February 2019, reports cited that Jaitley had been diagnosed with a rare form of soft-tissue sarcoma, following which the health started deteriorating again, which led to his death on August 24, 2019.

Jaitley was cremated at Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna river coast in New Delhi. Following his death, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) decided to rechristen Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium. Also, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that his government will install a statue of late FM as a mark of respect.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2019 08:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).