Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is expected to be discharged from hospital earliest by Friday after his kidney transplant surgery earlier this month. Jaitley will still follow a closely monitored recovery process at home, and if all goes well, may rejoin work in Finance Ministry by end-June.
Sources close to Jaitley say that he is recovering well and has started walking in his hospital room at the All India Insititute of Medical Sciences. After getting discharged, he will still follow a strict diet regime and access to him will be severely restricted for at least 10-15 days, as part of continuing post-operative care.
Jaitley is currently listed on the Prime Minister of India’s official website and “Minister Without Portfolio”. He is expected to start working from home and receive files and official briefings with two-three weeks.
“If all goes well, you could see him in North Block by June-end,” said a person aware of the progress of Jaitley’s treatment. “So far he has responded well, but precautions will still have to be maintained once he is discharged from the hospital,” the person added.
In Jaitley’s absence, Railways and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has held additional charge of Finance and Corporate Affairs ministries.
Jaitley, 65, underwent a successful kidney transplant surgery at AIIMS on May 14. He had been keeping unwell since early April due to kidney related problems and chest infection. He had been admitted to AIIMS last month but was released without getting any surgery done. He had been undergoing regular dialysis before his surgery.
Ha hadn’t been coming to Finance Ministry since early-April and was working from home, clearing files and meeting people in a controlled environment. He had cancelled scheduled trip to United Kingdom, in the second week of April. And took oath after his re-election to Rajya Sabha in mid-April, nearly two weeks after other members.
In September 2014, Jaitley underwent a bariatric surgery to treat weight gain because of a long-standing diabetic condition. The surgery was first performed at Max Hospital, but he had to be later shifted to AIIMS because of complications. He had a heart surgery several years ago.