Arun Jaitley continues to remain critical; top leaders including RSS chief visit AIIMS

New Delhi, Aug 18: Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been put on life support system at the AIIMS, Delhi, sources said, as several leaders including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister Piyush Goyal visited the hospital on Saturday.

The 66-year-old leader, who was admitted to the hospital on August 9, has been put on life support system and a multidisciplinary team of doctors is monitoring his condition, the sources said.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has not issued any bulletin on Arun Jaitley's health condition since August 10.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, BJP's Satish Upadhyay, Congress' Abhishek Singhvi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Air Force chief Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa also visited the hospital, the sources said.

BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati also visited the hospital.

"I visited AIIMS today to enquire about the health condition of former finance and defence minister, and senior BJP leader Shri Arun Jaitley. I met his family and consoled them and prayed to the almighty that he recovers soon," Mayawati tweeted.

Arun Jaitley was admitted to the hospital after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness.

In May this year, he was admitted to AIIMS for treatment. Arun Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, had been an important part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the BJP government's first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief troubleshooter of the government.

Arun Jaitley did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election because of his ill-health.

He had undergone a renal transplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS, with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal filling in for him in the finance ministry at that time.

Arun Jaitley, who had stopped attending office since early April last year, was back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018.

In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.