The 12 months was 1983. After a tough day’s work, three younger basic secretaries of the Congress’ scholar wing NSU (I) flew to Delhi late at evening to observe a film. But he was shocked when midway by the movie a slide together with his title appeared on the display screen, asking him to contact the theater supervisor.
The shocked trio—Ganesh Shankar Pandey, Pradyut Guha and Subodh Kumar—arrived on the supervisor’s workplace. there was a message ready for them Oscar Fernandes, who was then AICC joint secretary hooked up to get together basic secretary Rajiv Gandhi, who was in control of frontal organisations.
Oscar Fernandes, when he was a member of the Rajya Sabha. (Express Archive)
The trio was given some organizational assignments and Fernandes was ready to listen to from them until late within the evening. When he didn’t converse to them, Fernandes reached the NSU (I) workplace to listen to that the trio had gone for a movie. Folklore in Congress circles was that Fernandes requested a senior police officer to direct some cinema halls within the metropolis to insert slides in the midst of the movie.
Pandey, or many senior get together leaders for that matter, remembers Fernandes as a 24×7 politician in each sense of the phrase. It was widespread to see a lonely queue of holiday makers even after midnight at Fernandes’ residence as labor minister within the Manmohan Singh II authorities.
Party leaders keep in mind him as a pleasant, soft-spoken and humble persona who genuinely believed that politics was about working for “what is not”. And he was an out and out organizational man.
Oscar Fernandes (left) with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi throughout a nationwide convention of MPs, MLAs, Zilla Parishad Presidents and Mayors on HIV/AIDS in New Delhi in 2011. (Express Archive)
Pandey remembers that he later complained to Gandhi that he ought to no less than be given some free time at evening. “I think it was Odeon Cinema or Plaza. And the film, if I remember correctly, was Prem Rog. Bajrang Lal was the police commissioner then. I think Fernandesji urged the commissioner to run the slide from the theatre. The next day when we met Rajivji…we told him…Rajeevji we are little boys…at least we should let us enjoy the night,” Pandey recollects.
“Fernandesji was so committed and so passionate about the work,” he provides.
And it was Fernandes’ arduous work that prompted Gandhi to nominate him because the Parliamentary Secretary hooked up to him in December 1984 when he took over as Prime Minister. The different two had been Arun Singh and Ahmed Patel.
Fernandes was then in his first time period as a Lok Sabha MP from Udupi. He was elected to the Lok Sabha 5 instances and to the Rajya Sabha 4 instances. He is now a Rajya Sabha MP. Starting his electoral profession as a member of town council of Udupi after farming for a number of years, Fernandes grew to become an MP for the primary time in 1980 on the age of 39. He was chosen by Sanjay Gandhi to contest from the Lok Sabha seat. Udupi.
Oscar Fernandes (second from proper) with Sita Ram Kesari, Balraj Jakhar and Okay Karunakaran on the CWC assembly. (Express Archive)
After Sanjay’s loss of life, he grew to become a detailed affiliate and loyalist of Rajiv Gandhi, who first appointed him as one of many Joint Secretaries to help in organizational issues after which made him Parliamentary Secretary. “He worked for more than 18 hours a day… and the dedication impressed Rajiv,” stated a pacesetter. “He was irreplaceable. Never lost his temper…always smiling and affectionate towards everyone.”
In 1986, Rajiv additionally appointed him because the President of Karnataka Congress.
Although he grew to become an MP in 1980, Fernandes may solely enter the Union Council of Ministers in 2004, when he was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. He held the portfolios of Youth Affairs and Sports and Overseas Indian Affairs and Labor and Employment. In 2013, he grew to become the cupboard minister in control of highway transport and highways.
While Fernandes stayed away from controversies all through his life, his affiliation with Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by Young Indian Private Limited (YIL) grew to become controversial. Besides the Gandhi household, late Congress chief Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, journalist Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda had been additionally named within the case. According to the paperwork, 76 per cent stake in YIL is held by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, whereas the remaining 24 per cent is held by others named within the case.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
