George Fernandes – a former defence minister of India – passed away following prolonged illness. He was 88.
He had served as the defence minister in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1998 and 2004. He had withdrawn from public life for nearly a decade. His last stint as parliamentarian was as a Rajya Sabha MP between August 2009 and July 2010.
Fernandes had also served as railway minister and had other portfolios such as communications and industry. He was a senior Janata Dal leader before he founded the Samata Party.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other politicians tweeted their condolence messages on Fernandes. PM Modi, in his tweet, wrote that Fernandes was one of the most effective voices for the rights of the poor and marginalized.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in his Facebook post wrote, “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”.
Fernandes was born in Mangaluru in 1930. He emerged as a fiery anti-Emergency leader and civil rights activist in the 1970s. He contested the 1977 election from jail and won the Muzaffarpur constituency in Bihar. He served as Union minister in the Janata Party government headed by Morarji Desai, that came to power in 1977 to 1980.
He stepped down as defence minister in 2004, after the “coffingate” scandal broke. He was later absolved by two commissions that inquired into the matter.
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