Empathise with George Fernandes' health, not assets, Leila tells brothers

Leila Kabir Fernandes, wife of former defence minister George Fernandes, today virtually rejected his brothers' demand to use the ailing leader's property for the poor, terming it as highly "premature".
    
"Our son, Sean and I intend to see that these assets are first and foremost used for George's care... our main concern is to see that George's final years are spent in comfort and dignity," she said in a statement here.

Talks of setting up a trust and distribution of his assets to the poor are highly premature, she added.
    
The Fernandes brothers -- Michael, Aloysius and Richard -- have been demanding that George's multicrore assets could be used for the welfare of the poor by creating a trust, "as wished" by the ailing leader.

Appealing to them to emphathise with the 79-year-old leader suffering from Alzheimer and Parkinson's disease, Leila said, "at this stage of life and given his health challenges, he needs a peaceful and comfortable envirionment.
    
"As soon as he is comfortably settled, we fully expect those near and dear to George to have access to him -- particularly his brothers," she said on allegations that she was not allowing him to meet people.
    
Taking a dig at the brothers' claim, Leila also said, "If they truly inspired to honour George's legacy during his lifetime, we would encourage them to donate their own time and assets to worthy causes."

The Fernandes brothers have alleged that Leila and Sean surfaced suddenly "after distancing themselves from the politician for 25 years".