PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi Mourn Demise Of Oscar Fernandes

Oscar Fernandes, 80, a veteran Congress leader from Karnataka, who had headed several ministries at the Centre, died on Monday, September 13 in a  private hospital in Mangaluru. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed anguish at the death of the senior  Congress leader. Fernandes, a Gandhi family loyalist, was accommodated by the party in the Rajya Sabha after he lost in the last Lok Sabha elections in his home state. Fernandes was hospitalised in July after he suffered a head injury due to a fall while practising yoga at his home. He had also undergone surgery to remove a clot in his brain. “Saddened by the demise of Rajya Sabha MP Shri Oscar Fernandes Ji. In this sad hour, my thoughts and prayers are with his family and well-wishers. May his soul rest in peace,” the Prime Minister said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also condoled the demise of the senior party leader remembering him as a guide and mentor. He described Fernandes’ death as a “personal loss”. A trusted lieutenant of Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi, he was known as a politician of all -seasons as he had handled several tricky problems for India’s oldest political party and the government headed by it. A trained Kuchipudi dancer, soft spoken  Fernandes had won friends from across the political spectrum. Ever smiling, a multi-term Parliamentarian, Fernandes was a trusted and diligent backroom man. Someone who would work daily for 16-17 hours in the background to help the party get battle-ready. Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad said “When he was working in the party, the AICC office wouldn’t close before 3 am’’. Oscar Fernandes, born on 27th March in 1941 in the Udupi district of Karnataka,  was married to Blossom Fernandes and has two children, a son and a daughter. Born in a Catholic family in Udupi, his parents were Roque Fernandes and Leonissa M. Fernandes. Edited by PKC. Picture courtesy: News18.com