Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is suffering from a kidney ailment and may have to undergo a surgery, sources close to the minister said.

Jaitley, 65, is undergoing diagnostic tests and doctors have so far indicated that it was a kidney-related ailment, they said.

The minister, however, has not yet been hospitalised but has been advised to avoid going out in public for fear of infection.

He has not been attending office since Monday and even skipped taking oath after being re-elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh. 53 out of the 58 newly-elected or re-elected members took oath of office during the last two days. Jaitley was one of the five members who hasn’t taken oath.

Sources said Jaitley’s present condition may be a fallout of the bariatric surgery he had undergone soon after the BJP government came to power at the Centre in 2014.

He underwent the surgery to treat weight gain that he suffered because of a long-standing diabetic condition.