KATHMANDU: Former finance minister of India and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Arun Jaitley, has passed away today. He was 66.

Senior BJP leader Jaitley breathed his last Saturday afternoon at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in India's capital city, reported ANI, a multimedia news agency. Jaitley had been admitted to the health facility earlier this month and was placed at the hospital's cardio neuro centre.

Jaitley remained the finance minister of India from 2014 to 2019. He was a lawyer by profession and had served as a senior advocate of the Indian Supreme Court.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his sorrow on Jaitley's demise:

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!

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 24, 2019