Amid the outpouring of tributes on the first death anniversary of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri shared throwback pictures of his "old friend" and party colleague, whose death was "difficult to come to terms with".
Tweeting an image of a group of college students from the 80s, Mr Puri reminisced about his decades-old association with the former finance minister.
"I first met Arun when we were both students at DU, he at SRCC and I was in Hindu College. We were both active in student politics and on the debating circuit. It was clear to anyone who came in contact with him then that he stood out and was destined to go places," he wrote.
I first met Arun when we were both students at DU, he at SRCC & I was in Hindu College.
We were both active in student politics & on the debating circuit.
It was clear to anyone who came in contact with him then that he stood out & was destined to go places. pic.twitter.com/Q73A0Xistk
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 24, 2020The diplomat-turned-politician also tweeted a throwback family picture of the Jaitleys from 1999, adding how Mr Jaitley's death had left a "void... felt by his family and friends".
Mr Puri, whose camaraderie with Mr Jaitley was well-known, had tweeted the same picture months after Mr Jaitley's death last year, remembering "happier times".
"My friend Arun Jaitley, his wife Dolly & kids Rohan & Sonali in happier times at Sun House, Hampstead during the 7th Cricket World Cup in the summer of 1999," he had written in November last year.
Many senior leaders from the ruling BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remembered Arun Jaitley this morning.
"I miss my friend a lot," the Prime Minister tweeted and shared an old video, recalling Mr Jaitley's contributions as a political leader.
Mr Jaitley died at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he was hospitalised over complaints of breathlessness.
