Congress veteran and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes died in Mangalore on Monday at the age of 80. On July 20, Fernandes, a sitting member of Rajya Sabha, was seriously injured after he accidentally fell while doing regular exercise. year and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a super specialty hospital in Mangalore. The doctors also operated on him after he was found to have internal injuries.
Born on March 27, 1941, to Roke Fernandes and Leonissa Fernandes, he began his political career in 1972 as a councilor of the Udupi Municipal Council. He is survived by wife Blossom Fernandes, a son and a daughter.
his political career
A close confidant of the Gandhi family, Fernandes had always remained a disciplined party man throughout his political career. In his five-decade-long political career, Fernandes represented the Udupi constituency in the Lok Sabha five times and was elected to the Rajya Sabha four times.
He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980, then won from the same constituency in 1984, 1989, 1991 and 1996. He has been a Rajya Sabha member for four terms since 1998. He had served as the Union Minister of Labor and Employment. From 2006 to 2009 and held various portfolios including NRI Affairs, Statistics and Program Implementation in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA-II government.
Fernandes was also the President of the Central Election Authority of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and AICC General Secretary in 1996. He was the President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in the late eighties. He also served as the Parliament Secretary to Rajiv Gandhi.
He was also close to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and was known as the troubleshooter for the party for handling various situations.
The story of cow urine ‘cure’ cancer
On March 18 last year, Fernandes ‘praised the virtues ofgaumutra‘ (cow urine) and shared an anecdote about a man who claimed that his cancer was cured by drinking cow urine to take his message home. Participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha on two bills to set up National Commissions for Homeopathy and Indian System of Medicine, Fernandes had said, “When I speak of ‘gaumutra’, my best friend Jairam Ramesh pulls my leg. Huh.”
Fernandes shared an anecdote that once during a visit to an ashram near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, he met a man who claimed that his cancer was cured by drinking cow urine.
Several BJP leaders have previously talked about the healing power of ‘gaumutra’. However, the Congress has always reacted sharply to such comments.
a firm believer in yoga
Fernandes had also shared that he had severe pain in the knee joint and the doctors suggested replacement surgery. However, he refused and started doing ‘Vajrasana’. “I started Vajrasana while practicing yoga and today I am able to wrestle without any difficulty,” he told the members of the Upper House.
“When (former) Prime Minister (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji had knee surgery, I thought that if I had known him earlier, I would have definitely gone to him and asked him to do ‘Vajrasana’ And it could have been okay.” He said that.
He also claimed that he had met a man in America who was about 104 years old and was fast moving as a youth.
“Yoga is our wealth. If you practice yoga, maybe the budget cost of our health can be reduced by 50 percent. It’s a way of life,” he had said. “Our own Indian medical system will provide much relief even before we go to the doctor,” he said.
(with inputs from PTI)
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