Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who passed away on Saturday after a prolonged illness, was "saddened, pained and broken" after hearing about the demise of his former Cabinet colleague and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Swaraj died on August 6 - the day when Jaitley was last active on Twitter.

"Saddened, pained and broken on demise of Sushmaji. She was one of the most outstanding politicians in the Present Era. She distinguished in all positions. She held Senior Positions with the Party, NDA Government and while in opposition. She leaves behind a void which is difficult to fill," Jaitley had tweeted after Swaraj's demise.

Jaitley and Swaraj were Union Ministers in the first term of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet. Both of them did not contest in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Jaitley first became a cabinet minister in the government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. He then also went on to serve as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from June 2009.

He was appointed the finance minister in the first term of Modi government in 2014. He opted out of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections citing health reasons.

The former finance minister was admitted to the AIIMS earlier this month after he complained of restlessness. He was placed under observation at the hospital's Cardio-Neuro-Centre.