New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said former union minister Arun Jaitley's voice will no longer reverberate within the hallowed portals of Parliament, but his presence will be remembered.
Jaitley, 66, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Saturday, where he was undergoing treatment.
In a condolence message to Jaitley's wife Sangeeta, Gandhi said that in his illustrious career spanning over four decades, Jaitley left his mark on politics.
"Although his voice will no longer reverberate within the hallowed portals of Parliament, we will remember his presence," he said in the letter.
"Your family is in my thoughts and prayers. I wish you peace and strength during this difficult time," Gandhi said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who was present at the Nigam Bodh Ghat where Jaitley was cremated with full State honours, said Jaitley had a profound imprint on Indian statecraft and nation building, which not only defined the basic tenets of governance, but also impacted the lives of the common man.
"Arunji was a colossus whose inspirational and intellectual presence was an invaluable asset for the country. A political giant, who earned reverence and trust across the political divides," Birla was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the LS Secretariat.
BJP national vice president Baijayant 'Jay' Panda recalled how former finance minister Arun Jaitley took him under his guidance when he was a rookie BJD MP in 1998, illustrating that the departed leader was not constrained by the political divide.
Panda was earlier in the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and joined the BJP in March this year ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
"I was never his rival, but a prot g . Like many, many others who fill the ranks of the Cabinet today, as well as the party hierarchy, he took me under his wing from my first day in Parliament and was like an elder brother to me, always looking for me and giving me good advice," PTI quoted him as saying.
"Jaitley introduced fast track courts in India when he was the law minister (1999 to 2004). As one of the top lawyers in the country, he had a huge income, a lot of which he sacrificed by being in government," Panda said.
Former finance minister Arun Jaitely had a personal bond with Jammu and Kashmir as his wife belongs to the state and his wedding procession in 1982, which included many top leaders of the BJP, was received by several Congress leaders from the bride's side, Union Minister Jitendra Singh wrote in an emotional tribute to his senior party colleague.
In his piece 'What Arun Jaitley meant to me', Singh, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, said the former Union minister had a special weakness for the state, especially because he was married to the daughter of former finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir Girdhari Lal
Dogra, who was a Congress stalwart and a close confidant of late prime minister Indira Gandhi.
"Very few may recall that at the time of Arun Jaitley's wedding, his 'baraat' (wedding procession) was accompanied by the BJP's top national leadership of that time and it was received by the Congress' top national leadership from the bride's side," Singh wrote.