Arun Jaitley asks Modi to leave him out of new cabinet, citing health

Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to include him in the new cabinet, pointing to his health. He made the request in a letter to Modi from New Delhi on May 29.

What the letter said

Jaitley wrote that he had faced serious health problems over the previous year and a half, and that his doctors had helped him recover from most of them.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said he had already made the same request to Modi in person before the Prime Minister left for Kedarnath. The letter, he explained, was a formal version of that request: he wanted to be given reasonable time to concentrate on his treatment and his health, and therefore did not want to hold any responsibility in the new government for now.

He noted that he had been able to carry out the tasks given to him during the Lok Sabha election campaign. Even so, he said he wished to stay away from any responsibility for some time so that he could focus on getting better.

Offer of informal help

Jaitley added that he would have plenty of time on his hands and would be available to take up work informally to support the government or the party.

Background

The request came on the eve of Modi’s swearing-in. The BJP had won 303 of 543 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 election, counted on 23 May 2019, and Modi was sworn in for a second term on 30 May 2019.

See also: BJP and political leaders.

Originally published on 29 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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