Jaitley brought together states with vastly different views on GST to ensure country’s economic integration

Arun Jaitley often let the states argue their position at length, heard every possible viewpoint patiently and resolved the issue by calling for some give and take, but never allowing matters to reach a flashpoint without compromising on the basic principles.

He was arguably the greatest consensus builder of modern India. What Sardar Patel did for the country’s polity, Arun Jaitley did for the Indian economy. He brought about economic integration in a federation as diverse and as vast as India, something which no modern federation has achieved. But for him, GST would have remained a pious intention — something everyone agreed to but had a different version of. Even though Arun ji made immense contributions in every field that he handled, in this article I would confine myself to the implementation and evolution of GST. This process is something I was closely associated with and I had the opportunity to observe and interact with him the most.