Arun Jaitley resumes charge as Finance Minister; Mamata Banerjee sends best wishes

Union Minister Arun Jaitley, who stepped aside as Finance Minister in May to undergo a kidney transplant, on Thursday reached the Ministry of Finance to resume charge for Finance and Corporate Affairs after a nearly 100-day gap.

"The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed to assign the portfolios of the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs to Arun Jaitley," a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan stated on Thursday.

Happy to read the news that @ArunJaitley Ji has recovered well from his surgery and resuming his duties today. Welcome back. Best wishes

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) August 23, 2018

Jaitley, 65, who last attended office in early April, also held meetings with officials, including Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, chairpersons of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Thursday.

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Jaitley wearing a white Tata Safari was accompanied by his personal staff and went straight to his first-floor office, which had been sanitised recently to suit his physical condition.

Meanwhile, host of officials and deputies greeted the senior minister while the later waived at people waiting for him. Welcoming Jaitley back to the ministry, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, "Happy to read the news that Arun Jaitley Ji has recovered well from his surgery and resuming his duties today. Welcome back. Best wishes".

However, during his over four-month-long break, Jaitley has been active via social networking sites and was holding meetings with ministry officials through video conference. The minister also wrote blogs on various ongoing issues, including Assam NRC, Emergency of over four decades ago, No-confidence Motion in Parliament, Rafale fighter jet deal and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

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On August 9, Jaitley attended the election for the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha in Parliament. It was his first appearance post renal transplant operation on May 14. It was the same day when Railway minister Piyush Goyal took over the charge of his ministry and have been serving as an interim finance minister till the time.