Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed anguish at the death of veteran Congress leader Oscar Fernandes.
Mr. Fernandes (80), a former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member, died at a private hospital in Mangaluru on Monday.
Mr. Fernandes was hospitalised in July after he suffered a head injury due to a fall while practising yoga at his home. He had also undergone a surgery to remove a clot in his brain.
"Saddened by the demise of Rajya Sabha MP Shri Oscar Fernandes Ji. In this sad hour, my thoughts and prayers are with his family and well-wishers. May his soul rest in peace," the Prime Minister said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also condoled the demise of the senior party leader, remembering him as a guide and mentor. He described Mr. Fernandes' death as a "personal loss".
"My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Shri Oscar Fernandes Ji. It is a personal loss for me. He was a guide and mentor to many of us in the Congress party," Mr. Gandhi said on Twitter.
"He will be missed and fondly remembered for his contributions," he added.
Mr. Fernandes was a sitting member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. He had been a five-time Lok Sabha MP and a four-time Rajya Sabha member.
He had entered politics as a member of the Udupi Municipal Council and was elected to Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980.
Mr. Fernandes became the parliamentary secretary to the prime minister in December 1984 and then the AICC general secretary in 1985. Thereafter, he became the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress in 1986 and AICC general secretary from 1996 onwards.
Also condoling Mr. Fernandes’ demise, Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said the nation had lost a great leader.
"We have lost today one of the prominent leaders of the Congress party who served the party continuously for over five decades. He was loyal to the party and totally devoted to it. He worked together in the party from the district, state and the national level with me," Mr. Moily, who worked closely with Mr. Fernandes in Karnataka, said in a statement.
"For any party crisis, we always depended upon him and he was a crisis manager also. I have lost a personal friend, the nation has lost a great leader and the party has lost a devoted leader. My condolences to his family," he said.
