Arun Jaitley admitted to ICU, 'haemodynamically stable' now: AIIMS

Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was admitted to the AIIMS in Delhi on Friday after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness, and is "haemodynamically stable".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey are at the hospital to enquire about his health condition.

"Arun Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS today morning. He is currently undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team of doctors. At present, he is haemodynamically stable," the AIIMS said in a statement.

Jaitley, 66, was admitted at the Cardio-Neuro Centre of the hospital around 10 am, according to the hospital.

Arun Jaitley says Pak under 'global gaze' after ICJ verdict in Jadhav case

Terming the ICJ judgement in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case a "comprehensive victory" for India, BJP leader Arun Jaitley Thursday said Pakistan has been given an opportunity to comply with the rule of law and it is now under a "global gaze" as to what direction it follows.

The former finance minister took a dig at the neighbouring nation over its claim of victory following the verdict, as he called it "farcical".

"The ICJ has given Pakistan an opportunity to comply with the rule of law and reform its processes. Will Pakistan use this opportunity or squander it? Pakistan is now under a global gaze as to what direction it follows," Jaitley wrote in a blog.

The International Court of Justice judgement is a "comprehensive victory" for India and Pakistan lost conclusively before the ICJ, he said, adding the neighbouring country's farcical processes through which innocents are held guilty stand exposed.

A plain reading of the ICJ judgement shows that India won on almost all counts, he said.

The ICJ Wednesday ruled that Pakistan must review the death sentence awarded to Jadhav and asked it to provide consular access to him.

Jaitley said the judgement has cast an onerous responsibility on Pakistan through mandatory directions to ensure that the review of its military court's decision to award death sentence to Jadhav has to be extremely broad, ensuring that it takes into consideration all relevant grounds stated by the ICJ.

What surprised many was the official claim of Pakistan that the judgement is, in fact, its victory, Jaitley said and then went on to trash the rationale behind it.

Supporters of this viewpoint gave two primary reasons for such a boisterous and bravado claim. Firstly, Jadhav had not been released by the ICJ and secondly, military courts in Pakistan had been upheld and the case will go back to the military courts itself which are entirely state controlled, Jaitley observed.

On the legality of military courts, the ICJ offered no opinion because of its limited jurisdiction, which extended to interpretation and the enforcement of the Vienna Convention, the BJP leader said.

"That question, thus, would remain open before an appropriate forum for adjudication in future," he said.

The relevant question, therefore, is when the case has been referred back to Pakistan, what will be the forum and the process of the review and reconsideration that will be available to Jadhav, he added.

While not going into the question of the validity of the military courts, the observations of the court in paragraphs 139 to 147 give a clear indication amounting to a mandatory direction as to what is the nature of remedy available to Jadhav, Jaitley, also a noted lawyer, said.

He said the nature of the judicial authority which will go into the question of review and reconsideration cannot be the military court and added that it is perhaps why the ICJ suggests the creation of a new forum, if necessary, by a legislation.

Economy in focus as Modi starts second term without key aide Arun Jaitley

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take his oath of office on Thursday along with his ministers, though he suffered a setback at the start of his second term when key aide and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley opted out of the next government.

The swearing-in ceremony at the forecourt of the colonial-era presidential palace will be attended by thousands of guests including Bollywood stars and leaders of neighbours including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Modi won a massive mandate in the general election that ended this month after focusing his campaign on national security, as tension with old rival Pakistan shot up over a deadly militant attack on security forces in the disputed region of Kashmir.

Pakistan was not invited to the inauguration.

"India is proud of all those brave men and women martyred in the line of duty," Modi said after visiting a war memorial near parliament on Thursday. "Our government will leave no stone unturned to safeguard India's unity and integrity. National security is our priority."

Many ministers who are also senior members of the ruling alliance are expected to keep their place in the government. But changes in their departments are likely, especially after Jaitley wrote to Modi on Wednesday asking to be kept out due to health reasons.

Modi and the chief of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Amit Shah, could also promote many fresh faces to reward good electoral performance, mainly in the east of the country where they have traditionally been weak.

Shah himself is tipped to take up a role in the government, though some political analysts say he could stay on as BJP president to steer the party towards a majority in the upper house of parliament after dominating the lower house.

Nearly 8,000 people, including leaders of the decimated opposition bloc, are expected to attend the ceremony that will fete the incredible rise of 68-year-old Modi, the son of a tea seller.

The BJP now controls 303 of the 545 seats in the lower house of parliament, paving the way for Modi to possibly attempt controversial land and labour reforms amid concerns that Asia's third largest economy is faltering.

This week, two major industrial bodies called on the new government to urgently take steps to bolster the economy, which grew 6.6% in the three months to December - the slowest pace in five quarters.

Modi pushed through important reforms such as a unified goods and services tax and a bankruptcy law in his first five years in power, but faced flak for failing to create enough jobs for millions of people seeking employment, rising farm distress and lacklustre economic growth.

India's main opposition Congress party, meanwhile, is fighting to stay relevant after being overwhelmed in two straight general elections.

Its president, Rahul Gandhi, has offered to resign and on Thursday, the party said it would not send its spokespeople on television debates for a month as it analyses its latest defeat.

Jaitley steps down over health issues, wishes not to be part of next govt

Just a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers are sworn in for a second term, Arun Jaitley, who held the important finance portfolio in the first term, has written to him and requested that he should not be given any responsibility for now and be allowed time off due to his ill health.

This means there will be a new finance minister. According to bureaucratic and political buzz, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal or BJP President Amit Shah himself could be considered to take charge at North Block.

Jaitley on Wednesday tweeted a copy of the letter he had sent to Modi. “I am writing to you formally to request you that I should be allowed a reasonable time for myself, my treatment and my health, and therefore, not be part of any responsibility, for the present, in the new government,” he wrote in the letter to Modi.

“During the last eighteen months, I have had some serious health challenges... After the campaign had concluded and you were leaving for Kedarnath, I had orally informed you that even though I was able to discharge the responsibilities assigned to me during the campaign, I would in future like to keep away from any responsibility,” he said.

Since becoming finance minister in 2014, Jaitley has undergone a bariatric surgery, a kidney transplant, a surgery in the US to remove a growth, and he is said to be undergoing chemotherapy currently. He had taken leave from finance ministry twice in the last 13 months and could not even present the 2019-20 interim budget.

vArun Jaitley holds meeting on next budget amid rumours of ill health

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held a meeting on Friday with top bureaucrats of the finance ministry asking them to expedite plans for the first budget of the Modi government’s second tenure, amid rumours of his ill-health.

Jaitley took the meeting minutes on the day when the Union Cabinet passed a resolution to dissolve the 16th Lok Sabha of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s first term was dissolved. The meeting, which discussed key economic issues at length, lasted for about an hour at his residence.

Finance Secretary Subhash Garg, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Expenditure Secretary Girish Chandra Murmu, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar, DIPAM Secretary Atanu Chakraborty and other senior officials from North Block were present in the meeting.

“He discussed the roadmap for the new government and the discussions revolved around the Goods and Services Tax (GST), direct tax code, liquidity position of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and other crucial topics,” a person aware about the development said, requesting anonymity.

Officials present at the meeting said Jaitley was in good health and looked fit to join the cabinet of the NDA government’s second tenure. “He just told us to start work on Budget 2019-20,” another official said.

There has been widespread speculation on whether Jaitley would continue as Finance Minister, given concerns about his health, though it was made clear that Modi would want to retain Jaitley in North Block. Reports indicated that BJP President Amit Shah, and Rail Minister Piyush Goyal were tipped to be Finance Minister had Jaitley not continued for health reasons.

The swearing-in of the new government is expected next week, and the decision on ministerial posts rests with Modi.