Ailing Jaitley not in new govt?

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to be a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet in the BJP government’s second term due to his ill health, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Jaitley, 66, has become “very weak” as his health has deteriorated over the past few weeks, sources said, adding that he has developed some throat condition as well that prevents him from speaking for long.

He was admitted to AIIMS earlier this week to undergo tests and treatment for an undisclosed illness and was discharged on Thursday but did not attend celebrations at BJP headquarters that evening after the party’s emphatic victory in the general elections.

Sources said Jaitley is not keen to take up a ministerial position in the new Modi government and may have conveyed his unwillingness to hold any position, such as a minister without portfolio, to Modi.

Doctors have advised him to go to the UK or the US for treatment, they said.

Jaitley, whose health has been on a decline ever since he underwent a kidney transplant last May, will take a call in the next few days on the issue.

He has not attended office for the last three weeks and has rarely been seen in public. He, however, has been writing blogs and tweeted on Modi’s victory on Thursday.

He did not attend the Cabinet meet on Friday that recommended dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. Sources said he, however, met all five secretaries in his ministries at his residence.