He later was elevated to a Cabinet Minister's rank in November 2000 and was made simultaneously the Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs and Shipping. He was the first Minister of Shipping following the bifurcation of the Ministry of Surface Transport and demitted the office of the Minister for Shipping with effect from 1 September 2001 and as Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs on 1 July 2002 to join as a General Secretary of the BJP and its national spokesman.He worked in this capacity till January 2003. He rejoined the Union Cabinet as the Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice on 29 January 2003.
In a twist of destiny, Arun originally wanting to be a Chartered Accountant ended up being an accomplished attorney, only to serve the nation with his deep and astute knowledge of the law and legal processes and deep commitment to national priorities, well demonstrated through his contributions to policy matters such as GST and demonitisation.
Mentored by Nanaji Deshmukh and adored by late Vajpayee and LK Advani
Arun Jaitely was mentored by none other than Jan Sangh Stalwart Nana Ji Deshmukh and was equally liked by late Vajpayee and LK Advani as a rising talent withing the party fold. Nanaji Deshmukh once proposed Arun's name for presidency of Janata Party which was contested by some within the party. After having come to know about the situation, Arun resigned from the post and offered the prerogative to the party. His resoluteness and uprightness in political leadership was second to none.
Amit Shah Addressing Kashmir Issue With Clarity, Confidence & Honesty - By Onkareshwar Pandey - http://bit.ly/2YskaG3
He was chosen as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on 3 June 2009 by L.K. Advani later resigning from the post of General Secretary of BJP as per his party's One Man One Post principle. He is also a member of the Central Election Committee of the party. In his capacity as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, he played a vital role during the talks of the Women Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha. He successfully introduced the eighty-fourth amendment to the Constitution of India in 2002 freezing parliamentary seats until 2026 and the ninety-first amendment to the Constitution of India in 2004 penalising defections. However, being in the party since 1980 he never contested any direct election until 2014. He was a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat and was re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in March 2018.
A consensus builder, he set new political rules
On August 26, 2012, he said (outside Parliament) "There are occasions when an obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefits to the country." This statement is considered to have given legitimacy to obstruction of parliament in the contemporary politics in India. After forming government in 2014, BJP government has also faced disruptions and obstructions in parliament multiple numbers of times and opposition keeps on referring to his aforesaid statement.
Arun Jaitley's Last Article, written on August 6, 2019, was in Praise of PM Modi & HM Amit Shah - https://bit.ly/2TYpBLr
While his contribution to parliamentary discussion is exemplary but his support of obstruction as a legitimate floor strategy undoes his positive contribution to the Indian Parliamentary Democracy.
On the issue of GST bill passage, he went and reached out personally to all key leaders of respective political parties, sharing with them advantages and upside to the issue, convinced them in building consensus that finally led to the passing of the bill on the GST, hailed as one of the substantive economic measures achieved through political consensus in bringing India 'under one nation, one tax' regime. A mater orator, Arun also presided over the launch of demonitisation bill in effort to put corruption and black money to an end.His contribution to GST and demonitisation will remain, among others, as lasting legacy to setting benchmarks in political leadership through public policy and deployment of evidence-based legal processes.
Personal values mattered most to him
Arun Jaitley was honest to core, loyal to values both personal and political, astute in details and put people and their interest above his own personal during a long political career straddling from student politics to national one, rising to substantive positions within the government. An affable person who was humane, strategist and focused on credibility and took personal care of people who were part of his staff and those who knew. When the VP Singh government came to power, he offered Arun Jaitley a ministerial berth in his government which was supported by his party from outside, Arun refused to accept the ministerial berth leaving the decision to his party. After which the VP Singh government almost insisted on Arun to accept the position of Additional Solicitor General, which he accepted to take up, getting involved in doing the paperwork leading to investigations in Bofors deal.
Amit Shah Addressing Kashmir Issue With Clarity, Confidence & Honesty - By Onkareshwar Pandey - http://bit.ly/2YskaG3
In another case demonstrating his personal values and virtues, Arun took along with himself daughter of one of his staff in his car to the same school where his daughter was studying for her admission.When the principal of the school mentioned that the girl who Arun was presenting for her admission into the school was relatively poor in her English language, he assured the principal of the school that he would personally ensure that the girl comes up in her language proficiency. The girl upon his personal intervention was admitted to the same school where Arun's daughter was studying. The girl did well and later went for higher studies now working a one of the leading MNC's in Singapore.
Leaving behind a shining legacy
In a stellar case of his magnanimity towards people and their well being, he set up with his own personal finances philanthrophic entities deployed for helping his and his father;s personal staff who he always treated them as a part of the family. Having friends, well wishers and admirers from completely different areas and professional strands, many of such people did not only come to meet and see him during his illness but there were several places where people organized rituals for his speedy recovery and well being. It was emotional to see political leaders cutting across party lines coming and paying their visit to the hospital amply demonstrated acceptance of Arun within rank and file. Such was Arun who always stood taller as a person than anyone else in his powerful position.
Arun Jaitley's Last Article, written on August 6, 2019, was in Praise of PM Modi & HM Amit Shah - https://bit.ly/2TYpBLr
Arun Jaitely was an accomplished attorney, a political leader, a humane with deep commitment to personal values and loyalty for party. He stuck to these virtues in a most disciplined manner until the end. In a classical metaphorical way, he could relate to rank and file in equal measure in conversations with deep legal, political and economic knowledge. Being an attorney, he continued to refresh his knowledge on various matters and issues even until the end. A vociferous reader, he had deep interest in cuisine and could talk for hours on various items of the food with interest and keenness. A person who put values above everything else leaves behind a deep void not only for his party but also for his political detractors.
He leaves behind a legacy that can be a true tribute that political leadership across part lines may like to pay by following and emulating that in an endeavor to keep political differences separate from personal rivalries. Arun also adequately demonstrates in his passing away nature's law of keeping 'balance of choice' in order.
Arun Jaitley is survived by his wife Sangeeta, and two of his lawyer son and daughter, Rohan and Sonali.
Amit Shah Addressing Kashmir Issue With Clarity, Confidence & Honesty - By Onkareshwar Pandey - http://bit.ly/2YskaG3
(Pooran Chandra Pandey, author of this article, currently is managing director, Soent Group, Germany, besides having been founding CEO of the one of the first few non-Anglo Saxon think tanks - DOC Research Institute, in Germany. He has also worked in senior leadership roles with the Times of India, United Nations Global Compact India and Ispat Industries Limited and led world's largest public service campaign educational volunteering program- Teach India- earning the appreciation of the UN Secretary-General in 2008. Other similar campaigns that he led include Lead India, Earth Care Awards, Donate-a-book Initiative et. al. He also sits on boards of the World Food Program Trust for India among several others and speaks and writes on issues of strategic affairs, societal issues and economic matters both for Indian and international media. He also conceived and set up 'DOC TV' in Berlin on lines of UN TV. Contact - pooran_pande@hotmail.com Profile- https://bit.ly/2pO88s
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