Arun Jaitley will be remembered as soft-spoken, erudite and warmhearted person: Advani

'As a person, Arunji will be remembered as a soft-spoken, erudite and warm hearted person,' said Mr Advani in a statement here.

The former Deputy Prime Minister said Jaitley, a food lover, he never failed to recommend good restaurants to him.

'Also on every Deepawali, he made it a point to come with his family to our home to wish us,' he remembered fondly.

Remembering Late Sushma Swaraj, who passed away on August 7, and was very close to the BJP patriarch, Mr Advani said ' I am deeply saddened to condole the passing away of yet another close colleague Shri Arun Jaitley ji.'

Besides being a big luminary in the legal arena, Arunji was an outstanding parliamentarian and a great administrator, he said.

The 91-year old BJP leader said 'a dedicated party worker for decades, he was someone who was

inducted into the BJP core team when I was Party President and he soon rose to become one of the most prominent leaders of the party.'

He said Jaitley was known and respected for his sharp, analytical mind and everyone in the BJP always depended on him for finding solutions to complex issues.

He was also someone who valued and nurtured his friendship with people across the political spectrum, Mr Advani stated.

'Although Arunji was hospitalised for the last couple of weeks, we were all hoping that he would recover soon. His passing away is a huge loss not only to the BJP and the entire Parivar, but also to the nation. To me, it is a personal loss that has left a huge void,' he said.

Mr Advani conveyed his heartfelt condolences to his wife Sangeeta, daughter Sonali, son Rohan and all members of his family.