Since DU days, Arun Jaitley was a constructive leader: Puri

New Delhi: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who visited the BJP headquarters here on Sunday afternoon with his wife to pay his last respects to former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, told the Millennium Post that even during his student life in Delhi University, Jaitley was one of the most enthusiastic student leaders of his time.

"He was such an energetic and enthusiastic person - even as a student at Delhi University, he was such a constructive leader, always finding solutions," he said, remarking that Jaitley's demise was "too big of a loss" for him personally.

Jaitley, active in politics since his days at Delhi University in the 70s, was elected as the Delhi University Student's Union President from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP affiliated student party. Many young party workers while waiting to pay their last respects to Jaitley said that his leadership and commitment to do good work had inspired them to join the party.

Puri, speaking to reporters outside the BJP national headquarters here at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg said that the party's troubleshooter's passing was not just a loss for the party but also for the country.

Naval Kishore Jha, a longtime party worker from Delhi, who remembered the time Jaitley's election as the DUSU president had brought the ABVP back into power in the University after a long time said, "The work he (Jaitley) has done after his election and in fact, even his election was responsible for the ABVP's rise at the time."

Some young members from ABVP said that Jaitley's passion and drive for action in his student days were what inspired them to join the party's cause. Civil Aviation Minister Puri also said that he remembered Jaitley's constructive approach from the DU days and that the country was lucky to have had him as their Finance Minister.