The nation mourns the demise of former Finance Minister and senior BJP lawmaker Arun Jaitley who passed away at the age of 66 at Delhi's AIIMS hospital on Saturday, August 24, after a prolonged illness. After the hospital made the official announcement of Arun Jaitley's demise, several celebrities and political leaders have mourned the loss. Now, actor turned politician Kirron Kher paid tribute to the veteran political leader.

Kirron Kher who serves as Chandigarh MP for the Modi government took to Twitter and penned a couple of posts paying homage to the senior BJP lawmaker. Terming Arun Jaitley's passing away as 'tragic', Kirron Kher said that it is a great loss to the nation. She also extended condolences to his family.

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Here's the post:

In a consecutive post, Kirron Kher hailed Arun Jaitley as a 'brilliant speaker', 'a true statesman', and 'a gentleman in politics'. Mourning the 'great loss' Kirron Kher further said that she 'can’t imagine Parliament without him'.

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Take a look:

Arun Jaitley battling illness

Arun Jaitley, 66, was battling prolonged illness and was admitted to AIIMS on August 9th this year. He was visited by several top leaders of the country since his admission. President Kovind visited AIIMS on the day of his admission to the hospital, PM Modi visited him immediately after his return to the country from Bhutan. Union Minister Home Minister Amit Shah was also present in the hospital on August 11.

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Arun Jaitley was announced dead by AIIMS earlier in the day, who in a statement revealed that he took his last breath at 12:07 PM. 

Arun Jaitley's political journey

Arun Jaitley involved in politics since his time as a student. He was a member of the ABVP and served as the President of the Delhi University Students Union in 1974. Like a number of his contemporaries in the BJP, Arun Jaitley was put under preventive custody for fighting the Emergency as part of the JP movement, the clampdown on him lasting 19 months. Later, he rose to become the president of the Delhi ABVP and its All India Secretary.

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Arun Jaitley is best known for having served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs in the first Narendra Modi government has also held portfolios of Defence and Information and Broadcasting. It was Arun Jaitley who rolled out the GST in 2017 which saw India becoming a unified market for goods and services for the first time, and was also the first chairman of the GST council, is widely credited for forging consensus leading to the Constitutional amendment that eventually passed the GST Bill.