Chief Secretary, Iqbal Khandey Tuesday expressed profound grief over the demise of former J&K Chief Secretary, Mr Ashok Jaitley. “The news of his demise has come as a shock to me,” he said.“On my own behalf and on behalf of my colleagues, I express heartfelt condolences over the sad demise of Mr Ashok Jaitley, the former Chief Secretary of J&K. We pray for the departed soul and also pray that God bestow his family with the strength to bear this loss,” Chief Secretary said in his condolence message.Immediately after hearing the news about the demise of Mr Jaitley, a condolence meeting under the chairmanship of Mr Khandey was convened in the Civil Secretariat here, in which all administrative Secretaries participated.Remembering Mr. Jaitley, Chief Secretary said he had a very long association and friendship with him and always held him in high esteem. “Mr Jaitley has contributed immensely to our State, its administration and its economy. From early on, when I joined the service, I found him to be one of the most intelligent men, I have met. He was naturally bright and would take decisions quickly,” Mr Khandey recalled.
Mr Khandey said “he had a special affection for Kashmir” and was so “eloquent and articulate” and brought a lot of grace to the institution of Chief Secretary.
Expressing his sentiments, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, Mr B R Sharma described Mr Jaitley as an iconic figure and a strong administrator. “Each one of us would look up to him; he was decisive, quick on uptake and helpful to junior officers. We always felt very comfortable with him,” he said.Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr B B Vyas described Mr Jaitley as a great human being endowed with an overpowering personality and a person known for his intellect and friendly nature.Principal Secretary, Forests, Mr. R. K. Gupta, Principal Secretary, Home, Mr R K Goyal, Commissioner Secretary, R&B, Mr. Rohit Kansal, Commissioner Secretary, Higher Education, Mrs Sarita Chauhan, Commissioner Secretary, Agriculture, M A Bukhari and others also recalled their association with the former Chief Secretary especially during their early days of service. “He was a friendly person, who guided us when as newcomers we sought his advice.
He used to take note of even the junior most officers and we could bank on him all the time,” they remembered.The condolence meeting ended with a two minute silence to pay homage to the departed soul.Popular among friends and relatives as Tony, Jaitley joined the IAS (Indian Administrative Service) in 1964 and was assigned the Jammu and Kashmir cadre.He served in various capacities and was the youngest IAS officer to rise to the level of a secretary among his batch-mates.Jaitley served as the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir from 1996 to 2002.He retired from service in 2002 and served as advisor to the state government for six months.Jaitley was the second-longest serving Chief Secretary of the state after Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad, who was chief secretary from 1953 to 1963.Besides an illustrious career in the civil service, Jaitley was a prolific reader and a socialite.