Former finance minister and one of India’s tallest leaders Arun Jaitley was cremated with full state honours on Sunday, with leaders across the political spectrum paying tribute to the BJP stalwart. A key strategist and chief troubleshooter of the BJP and the Narendra Modi government in the first tenure, Jaitley passed away in AIIMS at the age of 66 after battling multiple health issues for the last several months.

He was perhaps among the BJP bigwigs who made a smooth transition from the Atal-Advani era in the party to the one where Narendra Modi dominated, ushering in the rise of a new generation leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is abroad, missed the funeral. He offered to come back yesterday, but was dissuaded by Mr Jaitley's family in view of his engagements. PM Modi is attending the G7 summit in France today after his visit to Bahrain.

In the morning, mourners gathered at Mr Jaitley's south Delhi residence and later, at the party office, where Vice-president Venkaiah Naidu, home minister Amit Shah and Defence minister Rajnath Singh paid floral tributes before the casket wrapped in the national flag. Senior Congress leader Motilal Vohra, NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, RLD leader Ajit Singh and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu also paid respects to Mr Jaitley.

One of the most trusted ministers of PM Modi, Mr Jaitley was acknowledged as the ultimate backroom strategist and a key troubleshooter of the party. As a minister, he had steered major economic legislation, including the flagship Goods and Services Tax, and defended controversial government policies.

The lawyer-turned-politician had triple heart bypass surgery when he was 52. A diabetic, his health had worsened after he underwent a kidney transplant in May last year. In February, he had to skip the presentation of the interim budget as he was in the United States for treatment.