Former Defence Minister George Fernandes, who passed away in New Delhi Tuesday at the age of 88, shared a special bonding with Tamilnadu. It was evident in the condolence messages that poured in from TN political leaders cutting across party lines. From Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to DMK president M K Stalin to MDMK general secretary Vaiko to PMK founder S Ramadoss, many senior leaders paid rich tributes on Fernandes.
Fernandes found refuge in Tamilnadu during the infamous Emergency in 1975 and worked from a house here. During the Emergency period, Fernandes worked without attracting anyone’s attention from a house near Foreshore Estate and when he went to Kolkata by train from Chennai, he was arrested. When DMK supremo Karunanidhi was arrested in 2001 during the AIADMK regime, Fernandes, who was then the convener of the National Democratic Alliance, had visited the DMK patriarch at the Central Prison in Chennai, and then Union Minister Murasoli Maran at a hospital.
Be it the Eelam Tamils issue or the Koodankulam nuclear plant or any other important issue concerning the State, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Tamilnadu. The late leader had only two or three sets of ‘kurta and pyjama’. He used to be admired for his handwriting in English. The socialist leader was India’s Defence Minister in the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and he was the Industry Minister under the Jan Sangh government, which defeated Indira Gandhi in 1977. An era has come to an end with Fernandes’ passing away. May his soul rest in peace.