Jaitley's condition critical, Prez visits him at AIIMS

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind visited AIIMS on Friday to enquire about the health condition of former finance minister Arun Jaitley, who is admitted in the ICU there since August 9 and is “critical”, sources said.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan and minister of state for health Ashwini Choubey were also present during the president’s visit .

According to the sources, Mr Jaitley, 66, is critical and a multidisciplinary team of doctors is supervising his treatment.

The AIIMS has not issued any bulletin on Mr Jaitley's hea-lth condition since August 9, when he was admitted after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness.  Last Saturday, after Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu visited AIIMS to e-nquire about Mr Jaitley’s health, his office had said that the former minister is responding to treatment.

In May this year, Mr Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS for treatment.

Mr Jaitley had been an important part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s first term. He held the finance and defe-nce portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the government.

Mr Jaitley did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election presumably beca-use of his ill-health. He had undergone a renal tra-nsplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS with railways minister Piyush Go-yal filling in for him in the finance ministry at that time.

Mr Jaitley, who had stop-ped attending office since early April last year, was back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018.