Senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes haspassed away in Mangalore. He was hospitalised after suffering injuries after anaccidental fall, passed away on Monday September 13. He was 80.
Fernandes served as Union Road TransportMinister in the UPA government.
Fernandes, born on March 27, 1941, to RockeyFernandes and Leonis Fernandes, started his political career as Councillor ofUdupi Municipal Council in 1972. He is survived by his wife Blossom Fernandes,son and a daughter.
Fernandes is known to enjoy a good rapportwith leaders across the hierarchy in the Congress. Being a close confidant offormer Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he had served as the AICC General Secretary. Hewas known as the man of all seasons, who had tackle tricky situations with hisnegotiations.
He served as Parliamentary Secretary to RajivGandhi. He was elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980 from Udupiconstituency in Karnataka. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in1984, 1989, 1991 and 1996 from the same constituency. Later, he was elected tothe Rajya Sabha in 1998. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in2004. He was a Union Minister from 2004 to 2009, holding a number of portfoliossuch as Statistics and Programme Implementation, NRI Affairs, Youth and SportsAffairs and Labour and Employment. He served two terms as a member of theCouncil of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
The Congress said in a tweet, “We are deeplysaddened by the demise of Shri Oscar Fernandes ji, our heartfelt condolences tohis family. A Congress stalwart, his vision for an inclusive India had a hugeinfluence on the politics of our times. The Congress family will deeply misshis mentorship & guidance.”