Arun Jaitley valued institutions deeply: Venkaiah Naidu

New Delhi, Jan 21 (PTI) Former finance minister Arun Jaitley was a leader who valued institutions deeply, former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday, and stressed that political parties must not denigrate constitutional bodies for their own ambitions.

He was speaking at the launch of the book 'The Life and Legacy of Arun Jaitley', written by lawyer Sumant Batra, published by Om Books International.

Naidu, a veteran BJP leader who has also headed the party in the past, recalled that his association with Jaitley went back to the time when both were members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS.

"We were both trained during the darkness of Emergency, and became close friends," Naidu said.

He admired the "political acumen and human brawn" displayed by Jaitely in all the roles he played - as the BJP's "master strategist", finance minister and also as a voice of the opposition when he served as the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha.

"He was a leader who valued institutions deeply," Naidu said, mentioning his role as the LoP.

"This is becoming increasingly rare... Leaders of political parties must not denigrate constitutional bodies for their own political ends or ambitions. This is what we learn from Shri Jaitley's life and work," he said.

"Sometimes there will be reasons... compelling reasons... agree to disagree," he said. Naidu stressed it is especially important in today's political situation.

"Have the ability to convey the facts in proper manner and also dissolve the arguments of the opponents. One must understand in the present day politics that we are not enemies, we are only political rivals. This is a basic thing that has to be recognised and respected by all political parties," he said.

"You must have the stamina to understand the opposite point of view and try to appreciate. If there is anything positive in this, and then finally come to the conclusion," he said.

Naidu admired Jaitley for having the ability to find solutions. "Whenever there is a problem, connected with economy, or connected with constitutional issues within the party, we used to look towards Arun Jaitley," he said.

"Arun Jaitley remains one of the most fascinating political figures of contemporary India and will always be remembered and admired for the harmony between intellect, articulation, and humane sensibilities," he added.

He mentioned an incident related to the passage of the GST Bill, when Jaitley took him to meet Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

"When this GST came, Arun told me, let us go to Sonia ji's house. She called Congress leader Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji also... And then finally, there was a broad agreement on this historic reform," Naidu said.

Rajya Sabha MP and lawyer Abhishek M Singhvi remembered Jaitley as the "quintessential Central Hall man".

"The Central Hall in Parliament is not a space. It's not a building. It's a concept. The Central Hall is where anybody and everybody sits and says whatever comes to their mind" he said.

"In Bangladesh central hall or in Pakistan central hall, the former outgoing government persons and the incoming people cannot sit together and have that camaraderie, which we have had several times in circles of which Arun has been an intrinsic part," he said.

"He believed in it. He belonged to that era. And perhaps it's a bygone era or at least a diminishing era. In fact, to be technically correct, we have no Central Hall now physically at all," the Congress leader said.

Retired Supreme Court judge AK Sikri said he attended college with Jaitley, and remembered him as an "ace debator" and a "brilliant student".

"He was a true nationalist. He wanted India to prosper," he said.

Former CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant remembered seeing Jaitley for the first time when he, as the then president of the Delhi University Students' Union in 1974, invited Jayaprakash Narayan to address a mass rally on the Delhi University campus.

He called it an "inspirational moment". He said Jaitley helped him move to the Centre from Kerala as an IAS officer. He also credited Jaitley for having "unparalleled ability" to draft law.

"Without him, GST and Insolvency (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Amendment) Bills would not have been passed," he said.

Senior advocate and former attorney general of India Mukul Rohatgi recalled the time when he had travelled to London with Jaitley, and the latter had to return within half-an-hour of landing as a political crisis was triggered back home following veteran BJP leader LK Advani's remarks on Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In the book, Batra chronicles Jaitley's journey from a spirited student activist in the 1970s to one of the most powerful voices in Indian politics. PTI AO MNK MNK