As Opposition Leader, Jaitley Yielded Space To Government, Something We Miss Today: Dhankhar

He also said one of Jaitley's "greatest failures" was he could "never make a single enemy".

The vice president made these remarks at the conclusion of the 'first Arun Jaitley memorial debate' in the presence of Jaitley's spouse Sangeeta Jaitley.

"As chairman, Rajya Sabha I miss him every day... If you look at the political spectrum, you will not find another Arun Jaitley," Dhankhar said.

He recalled that as the governor of West Bengal, he "had a tough chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) to face". "But she was all admiration for Jaitley. That is the kind of reputation he had earned," he said.

Before being elected as the vice president last year, Dhankhar was the governor of West Bengal for three years.

Dhankhar said as Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Jaitley yielded space to the government. The government, he said, was always assured that if it is a rational point, its point of view will always be appreciated.?

"Something we miss today, 100 per cent to the determent if our political governance," he said.

As Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, nothing changes for Jaitley except his seat. His humility increased, which was the only "slight change", Dhankhar said.

Jaitley was known to achieve things "without making noise", Dhankhar said while crediting him for the GST rollout. "It was the toughest task," he claimed.

"Those in command know his worth. Some of the challenges the country is facing today would have been closer to resolution with this great son of soil being around," Dhankhar said.

He also recalled that Jaitley's forte was debate.

"...In the debate, he has always shown restrained, patience. He never believed in aggression. He believed in persuasion. He gave due weightage to the other point-of-view," he said.

In her remarks, Sangeeta Jaitley said her husband liked to spend time with people. As a minister he used to find out what was happening with the youth so that their issues could be addressed, she said.

She recalled when Jaitley entered the Rajya Sabha, he gave ample time to the House, at times giving up cases as a lawyer. ?

The event was organised by the Shri Ram College of Commerce here.

-With PTI Input