AMN
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) mourns the passing away of Shri Oscar Fernandes. Veteran Congress leader Shri Oscar Fernandes was hospitalized after he suffered an injury in July this year. He passed away at the age of 80 in Mangaluru, Karnataka today.
Shri Oscar Fernandes was a trusted aide of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and a loyal and hardworking leader of the Congress Party. He was referred to whenever challenging situations arose.
Fernandes had served as the Union Minister for Transport, Road and Highways and Labour and Employment, in the first UPA government. He was also the Chairman of Central Election Authority of the All India Congress Committee. He was previously the AICC General Secretary.
Fernandes had earlier served as Parliamentary Secretary to Rajiv Gandhi. A five-term Lok Sabha MP from Udupi in Karnataka, Fernandes was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Congress after the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.
Shri Oscar Fernandes was a staunch Catholic and always upheld Gospel values in public.
I often interacted with Oscar Fernandes and always felt he put the interests of the people as a priority. He was genuinely selfless. The Congress party has lost a pillar. The country has lost a true patriot who gave his all for the nation. My condolences to his wife and children. He was a family man and he has left a great void for them and all his friends.
We pray that God may grant his soul eternal rest and that God give strength and hope to his wife and children in this moment of loss and grief.