Saying that Congress party stood with him and his family during this difficult period, Congress party president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wished a speedy recovery to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who left for the US for a medical check-up.
Jaitley, 66, who had a kidney transplant operation and follow-up check-ups at AIIMS last year, left for the US on Sunday night for a "regular medical check-up", sources said, adding that he would be back by this weekend.
"I'm upset to hear Arun Jaitley Ji is not well. We fight him on a daily basis for his ideas. However, I and the Congress party send him our love and best wishes for a speedy recovery. We are with you and your family 100% during this difficult period Mr Jaitley (sic)," Gandhi wrote on Twitter.
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This is Jaitley's first overseas visit since his kidney ailment was confirmed in April last year.
Jaitley is also unlikely to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland next week as his name does not figure in the latest list of registered participants.
The earlier list had his name, including for an official session on emerging markets outlook.
Jaitley had on May 14, 2018, undergone a renal surgery and was out of the finance ministry for nearly 100 days. During this period, Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal was given additional charge of the finance ministry.
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Jaitley had stopped attending office at the beginning of April 2018 and had even cancelled a scheduled attendance at the 10th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue in London.
On August 23, 2018, Jaitley returned as Finance Minister and in the next few months, he had limited public interaction in order to ward off any infection.
He has been the Finance Minister in the Modi government right from the time it came to power in May 2014. He, however, was a minister without a portfolio between May 14, 2018, and August 23, 2018.
A Rajya Sabha MP since 2000, he was re-elected to the Upper House from Uttar Pradesh last year. He is also the leader of the House.
Jaitley had undergone a bariatric surgery soon after the BJP government came to power at the Centre in 2014. The surgery, to treat weight gain that he suffered because of a long-standing diabetic condition, was first performed at Max Hospital, but he then had to be shifted to AIIMS because of complications.
PTI
