I miss my friend a lot: PM on Jaitley's death anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday remembered his late Cabinet colleague and friend of many decades Arun Jaitley on his first death anniversary and said he diligently served India.

"On this day, last year, we lost Shri Arun Jaitley Ji. I miss my friend a lot. Arun Ji diligently served India. His wit, intellect, legal acumen and warm personality were legendary. Here is what I had said during a prayer meeting in his memory," Modi tweeted, posting a video of his speech at the condolence meeting held here for Jaitley last year.

Besides the prime minister, other top BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda, paid rich tributes to him.

A key BJP leader and a crucial member of the party's brain trust for decades, Jaitley was an articulate champion of the saffron party's policies and ideology, and his warm personality and affable manners won him friends across the political spectrum.

He served as the Union finance minister in the first Modi government and wore many hats in public life, from that of a lawyer to a politician and a cricket administrator. He died at 66 years of age last year after battling prolonged illness.