Former defence minister George Fernandes died on Tuesday morning in Delhi. He had been ailing for the past few years. He was 88 years old.
Fernandes, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, had been bed-ridden for more than eight years, family sources said.
He had a cold and cough and was taken to the Max Hospital in Saket by his wife, Liela Fernandes, earlier in the day, when doctors said that the veteran leader was already dead.
His son, who lives in New York, is expected back in a day or two, after which the funeral will take place, the sources said, according to IANS.
Born on June 3, 1930, George Fernandes was, at the age of 16, sent to train as a priest, but his calling was different. He moved to Bombay in 1949 and got involved in the socialist trade union movement. Known to be a firebrand unionist and a fiery orator, he organized many strikes and bandhs there.
One strike that is remembered even now was the railways strike in 1974, where the entire nation was brought to a halt. Workers from all over the country joined the strike. It was later called off amid reports of ‘divisions’ in the union.
In 1967, he defeated Congress veteran S K Patil in parliamentary elections from the South Bombay and went on to win eight more Lok Sabha elections, last being in 2004.
Fernandes went underground during the Emergency imposed in 1975 during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s rule and was arrested and tried in Baroda dynamite case, where he and 24 others were charge with smuggling dynamite to blow up government establishments and railway tracks in protest against state of Emergency.
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.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 29, 2019
Following Kargil war, allegations surfaced about a scam in procurment of coffins, forcing Fernandes, then defence minister, to step down in 2004 . However, two commissions of inquiry absolved him in the case.
Fernandes’ last presence in Parliament was as a Rajya Sabha member in 2009-2010.