Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday condoled the death of former finance minister Arun Jaitley and said the country had lost its "best brain".
In a message, Singh, minister of state in Prime Minister's Office (PMO), said Jaitley had left behind a void which would be difficult to fill in this lifetime.
Singh, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir and was known to be very close to Jaitley, regularly visited AIIMS here after the former finance minister was admitted to the hospital on August 9.
"We have lost the best brain in the country. Personally, what Arun Jaitley meant to me cannot be described in words. The void is difficult to fill at least in this lifetime," the MoS PMO said.
Jaitley had a long association with Jammu and Kashmir and was in-charge of the state, Singh said.
"What a providential coincidence that he wrote his last blog on the abrogation of Article 370, on the late evening of August 6 after the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha," he added
Singh said Jaitley was not only a colleague, but a mentor and guide.
"He always cared for us, his juniors. To me personally, he was much more than I can describe in words," he said.
"The Parliament and in fact the small world of our daily work routine would never be the same again without Arun Jaitley," he added.
Prominent National Conference leader Devender Singh Rana also expressed grief over Jaitley's demise.
He described the former Union minister as a gentleman politician who reached out to all sections of political spectrum and society.
"In Jaitley, India has lost a tall statesman, a political stalwart and a legal genius," Rana said.
Having married a daughter of Jammu and Kashmir, Jaitley had a special bond with the people here, he added.
Jaitley, 66, passed away on Saturday after prolonged illness.
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