Oscar Fernandes: A 24×7 politician who was always approachable

Oscar Fernandes, when he was a member of Rajya Sabha. (Express Archive)

The three had been given some organisational tasks and Fernandes was waiting to hear from them till late in the night. When there was no word from them, Fernandes reached the NSU(I) office only to hear that the three had gone for a movie. The folklore in the Congress circles was that Fernandes got a senior police official to direct some of the movie halls in the city to insert the slide in between the movie.

Pandey, or for that matter several senior leaders of the party, remembers Fernandes as a 24×7 politician in every sense of the word. It was a common sight to see a long queue of visitors at Fernandes’s residence even after midnight when he was the Labour Minister in the Manmohan Singh II government.

Party leaders remember him as an affable, soft-spoken and humble personality who truly believed that politics was about working for the “have-nots”. And he was an out and out organisational man.

Oscar Fernandes (left) with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi during a National Convention of Parliamentarians, Legislators, Zila Parishad Chairpersons & Mayors on HIV/AIDS in New Delhi in 2011. (Express Archive)

Pandey fondly remembers that he had later complained to Gandhi that they should be allowed some free time at least at night. “I think it was Odeon cinema or Plaza. And the movie, if I remember correctly, was Prem Rog. Bajrang Lal was then the Police Commissioner. I think Fernandesji urged the Commissioner to ask the theatre to run the slide. The next day when we met Rajivji…we told him…Rajivji we are young boys…at least we should be allowed to enjoy the night,” Pandey remembers.

“Fernandesji was so committed and so passionate about work,” he adds.

And it was Fernandes’s hard work that prompted Gandhi to appoint him as a parliamentary secretary attached to him in December 1984 when he took over as the Prime Minister. The other two were ­Arun Singh and Ahmed Patel.

Fernandes was then in his first term as Lok Sabha MP from Udupi. He was elected to Lok Sabha five times and elected to Rajya Sabha four times. Having begun his electoral career as a member of the municipal council of Udupi after doing farming for several years, Fernandes became an MP for the first time in 1980 at the age of 39. He was handpicked by Sanjay Gandhi to contest the Lok Sabha seat from Udupi.

Oscar Fernandes (second from right) with Sita Ram Kesari, Balram Jakhar and K Karunakaran at CWC meeting. (Express Archive)

After Sanjay’s death, he became a close associate and loyalist of Rajiv Gandhi, who first appointed him as one of the joint secretaries to assist him in organisational matters and then made him a parliamentary secretary. “He worked over 18 hours a day… and the dedication impressed Rajiv,” a leader said. “He was unflappable. Never lost his cool… was always smiling and affectionate towards everyone,” a senior leader said.

Rajiv also appointed him as President of Karnataka Congress in 1986.

Although he became an MP in 1980, Fernandes could enter the union council of ministers only in 2004 when was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. He held the portfolios of Youth Affairs and Sports and Overseas Indian Affairs and Labour and Employment. In 2013, he became a cabinet minister in charge of Road Transport and Highways.

While Fernandes stayed away from controversies all through his life, his association with the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) by Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL) became controversial. Apart from the Gandhis, late Congress leader Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, journalist Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda were also named in the case. According to documents, 76 per cent of shareholding of YIL is with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, while the remaining 24 per cent vests in the others named in the case.