Samikhsya Bureau
Former Defence Minister and veteran socialist leader George Fernandes passed away in New Delhi on Tuesday. He breathed his last at the age of 88 morning following a prolonged illness.
He had been suffering from swine flu for the last few days.
A veteran parliamentarian who was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1967, Fernandes served several times as a Union cabinet minister, holding portfolios such as communications, industry, and railways, besides defence.
He had represented Muzaffarpur and Nalanda from Bihar in Lok Sabha.
One of the most influential socialist leaders of the 1970s, Fernandes emerged as one of the heroes who fought against the Emergency, imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi, tooth and nail. Born in Mangaluru in 1930, Fernandes was training to be a Roman Catholic priest. But later he joined the trade union movement. During the Emergency, he was arrested on charge of planning to blow up railway tracks and other government assets.
After the Emergency, he joined the Janata Party and later founded the Samata Party in 1994. The Samata Party became an alliance partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party when the later formed the government under former prime minister Atal Behari Bajpayee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the demise of Fernandes. “Saddened by his passing away…….During his long years in public life, George Sahab never deviated from his political ideology. He resisted the Emergency tooth and nail. His simplicity and humility were noteworthy,” Modi wrote.
In the micro blogging site Twitter, the Prime Minister further wrote: “My thoughts are with his family, friends and lakhs of people grieving. May his soul rest in peace. When we think of Mr George Fernandes, we remember most notably the fiery trade union leader who fought for justice, the leader who could humble the mightiest of politicians at the hustings, a visionary Railway Minister and a great Defence Minister who made India safe and strong”.
Mr Modi said that Fernandes represented the best of India’s political leadership.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi also condoled Fernandes’s death. In a post on social media, Gandhi said: “I’m sorry to hear about the passing away of former Parliamentarian & Union Minister, George Fernandes Ji. My condolences to his family and friends in this time of grief.”
In a Tweet, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy expressed grief and said, “Very sad to hear about George Fernandes’ demise. He was a very good friend in his later years. Earlier we had ideological. differences due to his being socialist and I for market based economy but we were united in opposing TDK and residual Nehru family.”
(With UNI input)
