Former Defence Minister and veteran socialist leader George Fernandes passed away on Tuesday, January 29, 2019. Fernandes' close associate Jaya Jaitly said that the last rites of former defence minister will be conducted at Lodhi crematorium, New Delhi, and his ashes buried as per his wishes. George Fernandes Biopic Announced on the Day of His Demise: Shiv Sena Leader Sanjay Raut Makes the Big Announcement.

The former Samta Party president said Fernandes had earlier wished to be cremated but later had stated that he wanted to be buried. George Fernandes Dies After long Battle With Alzheimer’s Disease: Top Facts About This Degenerative Illness.

“It will be at Lodhi crematorium. We are following two things which he liked. First he wanted cremation and then during his last days he was saying burial. So we are going to cremate the body and bury the ashes which will fulfil both his wishes,” Jaitly told reporters. George Fernandes Passes Away at 88, Bihar Govt Announces 2-Day State Mourning.

Fernandes, a lifelong socialist despite his political adventurism that included Cabinet posts in two ideological opposite governments where he ousted Coca-Cola in 1977 and oversaw the Kargil war in 1999, died Tuesday. He was 88. George Fernandes Dies at 88: Key Highlights of The Political Career of Former Defence Minister.

Fernandes was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which had forced him out of the public eye for several years, and had recently contracted swine flu, Jaitly said.

George Fernandes was born on 3rd June 1930 to John Joseph Fernandes and Alice Martha Fernandes, a Mangalorean Catholic family. Talking about his great works, he was the editor of a Konkani language monthly Konkani Yuvak (Konkani Youth) in 1949. The same year, he was the editor of the Raithavani weekly in Kannada. The Dockman weekly in English, which had ceased publication, reappeared under the editorship of Fernandes in 1952–53.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2019 10:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).