{"id":7448,"date":"2021-09-13T15:35:52","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T15:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hamslivenews.com\/?p=7448"},"modified":"2021-09-13T15:39:42","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T15:39:42","slug":"veteran-congress-leader-oscar-fernandes-dies-at-80-in-a-private-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hamslive.com\/news\/2021\/09\/veteran-congress-leader-oscar-fernandes-dies-at-80-in-a-private-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Congress leader Oscar Fernandes dies at 80 in a private hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes MP died at a private hospital on Monday afternoon after an illness.<\/h2>\n

He was 80 and is survived by his wife and two children.\u00a0 He had also undergone surgery to remove a clot in his brain. Oscar Fernandes was hospitalized in July after suffering a fall at his house while doing his regular exercise. As he was found to have an internal injury, surgery was carried out by doctors.<\/p>\n

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on extending his solaces to the family, said the death of Fernandes was a personal loss for him. “It is a personal loss for me. He was a guide and mentor to many of us in the Congress party. He will be missed and fondly remembered for his contributions,” he said in a tweet.<\/p>\n

Oscar Fernandes was a close confidante of the Gandhi family, was a highly disciplined party man throughout his political life, a loyalist of Congress all along, and executed assignments given to him by the party with honesty and integrity.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish over the death of the veteran Congress leader. “Saddened by the death 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.<\/p>\n

In his five decade long political career, Oscar Fernandes represented the Udupi constituency in the Lok Sabha five times and was elected to the Rajya Sabha four times.<\/p>\n

He served as a Union Minister for Labour and Employment from 2006 to 2009 and had held different portfolios, including NRI Affairs, Statistics, and Programme Implementation in the UPA-II government led by Manmohan Singh.<\/p>\n

He was also the chairman of the central election authority of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and the AICC general secretary in 1996. He was president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in the late eighties. He also served as Parliament Secretary to Rajiv Gandhi.<\/p>\n

He was born on March 27, 1941 to Roque Fernandes and Leonissa Fernandes. He had his education at St Cecily’s convent school, Board high school, and in MGM College, Udupi. Oscar Fernandes began his political career by getting elected to Udupi municipality in 1972.<\/p>\n

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