Bengaluru: Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes passed away at a private hospital in Mangaluru. He was 80.
The sitting Rajya Sabha MP had suffered a clot after an accidental fall while exercising and was admitted to Yenepoya Hospital here on July 19. He was operated on for a blood clot in the brain in late July and had been ailing since then, sources said.
We are deeply saddened by the demise of Shri Oscar Fernandes ji, our heartfelt condolences to his family.
A Congress stalwart, his vision for an inclusive India had a huge influence on the politics of our times.
The Congress family will deeply miss his mentorship & guidance. pic.twitter.com/UXcLI765yP
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 13, 2021
A trusted aide of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha after losing the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.
Fernandes served as parliamentary secretary to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1984-85 and held a number of portfolios in the first Manmohan Singh government from 2004.
