Form of words:
New Delhi: A backroom political strategist, a Gandhi-family loyalist, a five-time Lok Sabha and three-time Rajya Sabha MP, a trained dancer – Oscar Fernandes wore several hats, each one of which was exquisite.
Former Union Minister of UPA Fernandes passed away at the age of 80 He suffered the loss this July after battling for months following a head injury on Monday afternoon.
Considered a close associate of the Gandhi family, especially party president Sonia Gandhi, Fernandes was one of the party stalwarts who were deeply valued for the rigor he brought to the party organization – from electoral strategy to times of turmoil. To keep the party cadre excited.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described him as a “loyal soldier”, organizational general secretary KC Venugopal called him an “irreplaceable mentor”, while the party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala likened his death to the fall of a banyan tree. Rahul Gandhi said the death was a “personal loss” for him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also condoled the death of Fernandes.
In a career spanning over five decades – during which he was always at the behest of the party leadership – Fernandes often led the Congress to electoral victories.
Read also: Motilal Vora, Gandhi family loyalist, ‘uncle’ man and historian of Congress history
District President of Rajiv Gandhi’s Parliamentary Secretary
Fernandes was born in a Catholic family in Udupi, Karnataka. In his late 20s, he started working in the District Committee of Youth Congress of Udupi. It was here that he first met Veerappa Moily, who was also a member of the Youth Congress.
“I still clearly remember that we were working together, trying to mobilize party workers. It was one of my first friendships at the party,” Moily told ThePrint. “His loss is like no other.”
Moily revealed that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had doubts about giving a ticket to Fernandes for the 1980 Lok Sabha elections as she needed a strong candidate to defeat TA Pai in Udupi. Pai was a popular banker and disgruntled former Congress leader who had joined the Congress (URS); Defeating him will not be an easy task.
“But I was able to convince him that Fernandes would be the perfect person for it. And he was able to come out victorious against Pai,” Moily said.
Fernandes’ victory not only catapulted him to the Lok Sabha, but also immediately brought him closer to the party high command. He was appointed one of Rajiv Gandhi’s parliamentary secretaries in 1985 along with Ahmed Patel and Arun Singh. The trio was affectionately called ‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony’ after the popular 1977 Hindi cinema starring Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan.
Fernandes did not look back and his political career only continued to grow. He won the Lok Sabha elections for five consecutive terms, after which he became a Rajya Sabha MP for three terms. He was also seen as a mentor to many young leaders and party workers, often guiding him through politics to negotiate.
working late night
Fernandes was also known for his round the clock approach to politics; He was often found working till 3 o’clock in his office.
“He was a 24/7 party man. Just like Ahmed Patel. You walk into the party office at night, he’ll be there. You walk early in the morning, he must be already meeting people,” former Union minister K.K. Rahman Khan told ThePrint, drawing parallels between Ahmed Patel and Fernandes.
“It is rare to see the kind of loyalty he had towards the party. From the time of Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and now Rahul Gandhi, he was a devoted party loyalist who was highly trusted. It is a huge loss for the party that he is gone,” Khan, who is a contemporary of Fernandes in the Congress, said. Both men were Rajya Sabha colleagues for many years.
In 1983, he was appointed joint secretary in the AICC, and also served as the president of the Karnataka Congress in the late 80s.
Fernandes continued to serve as Union Labor Minister in both the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. He was also appointed as the Minister of Transport, Roads and Highways in the second UPA government.
Read also: Congress handed over OBC voters to BJP. And it hasn’t learned its lesson yet
love for dance and art
When he was not working, Fernandes spent his time dancing. He was famous for his dancing skills and love for art, yoga and music.
A trained Kuchipudi and Yakshagana dancer, Fernandes will pair with Moily for his dance recitals in Karnataka as well as Delhi.
“He will play Bhishma, I will play Arjun,” Moily recalled.
The two often performed together at the Delhi Karnataka Sangha, a stage in the national capital that aims to promote the art of Karnataka.
deeply saddened by the death of @INCIndia Legendary Mr Oscar Fernandes.
He was the Coastal Cultural Ambassador in New Delhi
Oscar ji contributed a lot to the betterment of the country and the party.
(As Yakshagana artist with Veerappa Moily in Delhi Karnataka Association) pic.twitter.com/GoZcfKoFpY
— Chetan Gonaik (@CGonaik) September 13, 2021
Former Union Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also spoke about his friendship with Fernandes. In a series of tweets, he shared a clipping of Kannadiga breaking the Tulu song about buffaloes from Rajya Sabha TV.
We were very close and were sitting next to each other in Rajya Sabha. A few years ago I asked him to speak in Tulu during a debate, when he burst into the song which became quite a sensation. He had a wonderful sense of humour. (3/4) pic.twitter.com/7rCLza05Hc
— jairam ramesh (@jairam_ramesh) September 13, 2021
“Being a farmer, my buffalo understands only Tulu language,” he is seen saying in the clip before starting his song.
Meanwhile, in the political circles, Fernandes is remembered as a service-minded, committed politician.
BJP national general secretary and Chikmagalur MLA CT Ravi said, “He may be from coastal Karnataka, but was Chikmagalur’s son-in-law.”
“Despite political differences, he was always warm, respectful to everyone. I remember how his wife introduced me to him as ‘Ravi of our Chikmagalur’.”
(Edited by Mansa Mohan)
Read also: Congress leader Oscar Fernandes told the story of cancer treatment of ‘Gaumutra’ in Rajya Sabha
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs free, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay the price for maintaining this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.