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Updated: Aug 25, 2019 14:17 IST

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday paid homage to BJP leader Arun Jaitley and called him a political giant who loved to put his points on the forefront and argue.

“His demise is very unfortunate. I have seen him grow from a member of the student union to a finance minister of India. He was a political giant who loved to put his points on the forefront and argue. He has contributed a lot in the politics and for the Constitution,” Gadkari told ANI after paying tributes to Jaitley at his residence this morning.

The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways said that Jaitley had contributed a lot to the development of the nation and the BJP.

He added that Jaitley had mastery over both English and Hindi.

Recollecting some of the fond memories with the former finance minister, Gadkari said, “He called me at his residence a few days ago. We enjoyed food together and talked about our personal lives and political developments in the country.”

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“We used to talk a lot about the country’s economy and infrastructure development. When I became a minister there were 604 projects in my ministry with huge defaults... I asked for changes in some policy, he helped and 95 per cent problem was resolved,” he said.

The BJP leader concluded by wishing for strength to the late leader’s family for dealing with the “irreparable loss”.

Jaitley’s mortal remains were brought to BJP headquarters from his residence, where party members and people will pay their last respects to him. Later, he will be cremated at Nigambodh Ghat.

Jaitley passed away here at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Saturday afternoon. He was 66.

(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text.)