Known for quick decision-making and administrative acumen, his concern for the armed forces was all too evident. He visited the Siachen glacier, where temperatures can dip to minus 50 degrees Celsius, nearly 30 times as he was very much concerned about living conditions of the soldiers deployed there, defence ministry officials said.
An avid admirer of socialist Ram Manohar Lohia, Fernandes, who died on Tuesday, would never miss an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution and express gratitude to the soldiers, particularly those deployed in difficult areas along India's borders with Pakistan and China.
“Kaise hain aap log? Sab kuch theek hei na? Kab chhutti mein ja rahen hain? (How are you? Is everything fine? When are you going on leave?)” — this is how he would often converse with army men, according to a senior military official.
Fernandes became Defence Minister on March 19, 1998 in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. However, he had to quit from the Cabinet in March 2001 following the Tehelka scandal.
In October 2001, he returned as the defence minister after an inquiry cleared his name in the Tehelka episode, and continued on the post…
