NEW DELHI: Former Defence Minister George Fernandes, a committed socialist and trade unionist who went underground against the 1975-77 Emergency and fought the Congress all his life, died on Tuesday after prolonged illness. He was 88.
Fernandes, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, has been out of the public eye and has been bed-ridden for more than eight years, family sources said. He had a cold and cough and was attended to at his home by a healthcare team from Max Hospital who found him dead on Tuesday morning.
Fernandes leaves behind his wife Leila and a son, who lives in New York. The funeral will take place in a day or two, the sources said. (IANS)