| Minister of Finance | |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 26 May 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | P. Chidambaram |
| Minister of Defence | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 26 May 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | A. K. Antony |
| Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 3 June 2009 – 26 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Jaswant Singh |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Minister of Law and Justice | |
| In office 29 July 2003 – 21 May 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Preceded by | Jana Krishnamurthi |
| Succeeded by | H. R. Bhardwaj |
| In office 7 November 2000 – 1 July 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Preceded by | Ram Jethmalani |
| Succeeded by | Jana Krishnamurthi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 December 1952 (age 61) New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (1980–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Sangeeta Jaitley (1982–present) |
| Children | Rohan Sonali |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Website | Official website |
Political career
Arun Jaitley had been the member of the ABVP, the student wing of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) during his student years. He has been a member of the national executive of Bharatiya Janata Party since 1991.[15] He became the spokesman of the BJP during the period preceding the 1999 general election. After the Vajpayee Government came to power under the umbrella of the National Democratic Alliance, he was appointed Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge) on October 13, 1999. He was also appointed Minister of State for Disinvestment (Independent Charge), a new Ministry created for the first time to give effect to the policy of disinvestments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. He took over the additional charge of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs on July 23, 2000 following the resignation of Ram Jethmalani as the Union Cabinet Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs. He was elevated as a Cabinet Minister in November 2000 and was made simultaneously the Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs and Shipping. He was the first Minister of Shipping following the bifurcation of the Ministry of Surface Transport. He demitted the office of the Minister for Shipping with effect from September 1, 2001 and as Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs on July 1, 2002 to join as a Secretary General, BJP and its national spokesman.[1] He worked in this capacity till January 2003. He rejoined the Union Cabinet as the Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice on 29 January 2003. With the defeat of the National Democratic Alliance in May 2004, Jaitley returned to serving the BJP as a General Secretary, and back to his legal career.
He is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat (as of March 2006). He was chosen as the Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha on June 3, 2009 by L.K. Advani. On June 16, 2009 he resigned from the post of General Secretary of BJP as per his party's One Man One Post principle. He is also a member of the Central Election Committee of the party.[16]
In his capacity as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, he has been credited for his excellent oratory skills which is matched equally by his intense research into the topic. However, Being in the party since 1980 he never contested any direct election until 2014. He was the party's candidate for Amritsar (replacing Navjot Singh Sidhu) for Indian general election, 2014 which he lost to Congress candidate Amarinder Singh.
He is currently the Finance Minister with an additional charge of Defence Minister in the Union of India.
Notable achievements[edit]
Legal[edit]
He represented the Birla family in their legal battle against R. S. Lodha on the question of ownership of Birla Corporation Limited, the property worth Rs. 5000 Cr and above.
He has represented Ram Gopal Verma in a case against the film-maker who had a distorted version of the National Anthem in his film Rann. He later dropped the song from the film.
84th Amendment[edit]
He successfully introduced the eighty-fourth amendment to the Constitution of India in 2002 freezing parliamentary seats until 2026.[17]
91st Amendment[edit]
He successfully introduced the ninety-first amendment to the Constitution of India in 2004 penalising defections.[18]
Role as strategic planner of BJP[edit]
Recently, Arun Jaitley has emerged as strategic planner for his track record of managing a number of victories in state Assembly election for the BJP.
Jaitley as General Secretary has managed 8 Assembly elections as of May 2008. Most recently, he oversaw the BJP's success in the state of Karnataka.
Gujarat[edit]
In 2002, Jaitley helped his close associate, Narendra Modi, win the Gujarat Assembly elections with a landslide mandate, winning 126 out of 182 seats.
In December 2007, Jaitley orchestrated a well organized campaign to return the incumbent Chief Minister Narendra Modi back to power. The BJP won 117 seats out of the 182 seats. Narendra Modi specifically asked the party high command to depute Jaitley in Gujarat. The primary poll issues were pro-incumbency of Narendra Modi and good governance by the state administration.
Madhya Pradesh[edit]
In 2003, Jaitley, managed the assembly elections for the BJP in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He, along with Uma Bharti, won
Karnataka[edit]
Arun Jaitley was specifically put in charge of Karnataka, which went to polls simultaneously with the Lok Sabha in May 2004. Karnataka is the only southern state in which the BJP has a sizable presence and a positive mandate for the BJP was expected. The BJP won 18 out of 26 Lok Sabha Seats in the State and emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly, capturing 83 seats, as opposed to the Congress' 68 and the Janata Dal (Secular)'s 59.
In May 2008, Jaitley oversaw a phenomenal election campaign in Karnataka, outdoing his previous performance. In the 224-member Assembly, the BJP won 110 seats, falling 3 short of a majority. Soon after, Jaitley negotiated the support of 5 independent MLAs thus taking the BJP's strength to 115. All party leaders starting from President Rajnath Singh to colleague Sushma Swaraj and the BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate in Karnataka, B.S. Yeddyurappa, credited Jaitley with the victory. The Karnataka victory is widely touted as BJP's entry in South Indian politics.
Bihar[edit]
In 2005, after the February elections resulted in a hung verdict, re-elections were held in November in the state of Bihar. This election was fought by the BJP in a coalition with the JD(U). He was the chief strategist of the NDA combine. The BJP, ended up winning an all-time high of 58 seats and with the JD(U)'s 88 seats were able to form the government. Nitish Kumarof the JD(U) was instated as Chief Minister and the BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi was installed as Deputy Chief Minister.of Bihar.
Punjab
In February 2007, Jaitley managed the BJP's campaign in Punjab and coordinated a strategy between the party and its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal. Out of the 23 seats the party contested, it won 19, a figure that surpassed all expectations and is the party's best-ever performance in the state.
MCD
Late in 2007, Jaitley was appointed general secretary in-charge of elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Of the 272 member Corporation, the BJP won 184 wards.
Stand on Caste Based Promotion in Civil Services
Extract of speech made by Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha debate regarding 117th Amendment Bill to allow for Caste Based Reservation in Promotion in Civil Services.
"..An effort to eliminate discrimination cannot be done by a process of resorting to reverse discrimination...adequacy of representation (for all) and over all administrative efficiency under Article 335 are a part of the constitutional requirements without which the structure of equality of opportunity under Article 16 would collapse.
..I have a serious objection to this clause. Article 335 provides for relaxed standards to be made applicable to SCs & STs. If this provision in Article 335 is applicable, this would adversely impact the efficiency and the morale of the service, create an inequality and would be constitutionally vulnerable. I would, therefore, urge the government to delete this part of the amendment."
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