As Opposition Leader, Jaitley Yielded Space to Govt, Something We Miss Today: Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said that as an opposition leader, the late Arun Jaitley gave space to the government and embraced another point of view, which is “100 per cent” missing today. He also said that one of Jaitley’s “greatest failings” was that he “could never make a single enemy”.

The Vice President made the remarks at the conclusion of the ‘1st Arun Jaitley Memorial Debate’ in the presence of Jaitley’s wife Sangeeta Jaitley.

Dhankhar said, “As the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, I miss him every day… If you look across the political spectrum, you will not find another Arun Jaitley.”

He recalled that as the governor of West Bengal, he “had to face a tough chief minister (Mamata Banerjee).”

Dhankhar was the Governor of West Bengal for three years before being elected the Vice President last year.

Dhankhar said that as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaitley gave space to the government. He said that the government has always been assured that if it has a rational point, its point of view will always be appreciated.

“What we’re missing out on today is 100 percent detrimental to our political governance,” he said.

As the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, nothing changes for Jaitley except his seat. Dhankhar said that his humility increased, which was only a “minor change”.

Crediting Jaitley for the introduction of GST, Dhankhar said Jaitley was known to get things done “without making any noise”. “It was the toughest job,” he claimed.

“Officials know his worth. Some of the challenges the country is facing today would have been closer to solution with this great son of the soil,” said Dhankhar.

He also recalled that Jaitley’s strength was debate.

“…in debate, he has always shown restraint, patience. He never believed in aggression. He believed in persuasion. They gave due importance to the second point of view,” he said.

In her remarks, Sangeeta Jaitley said that her husband likes to spend time with people. He said that as a minister he used to find out what was happening with the youth so that their issues could be addressed.

He recalled that when Jaitley entered the Rajya Sabha, he devoted ample time to the House, at times leaving cases as a lawyer.

The event was organized by Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)