Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar broke down while paying tribute to former minister George Fernandes, who was his former party and cabinet colleague even as the Government of Bihar declared two-day state mourning on the demise of Fernandes in Delhi on Tuesday.
Terming it a personal loss at an event here, Kumar said, "His death is a great loss for us. His contributions to politics as well as society will always be remembered. He was always resolved about his socialist ideologies and principles and his death has left us agonized."
Kumar reached Delhi on Tuesday evening to pay tribute to Fernandes and take part in his last rites on Wednesday. "He fought for the rights of the people since his youth and made significant contributions to the Parliament. His tenure as defence, rail and other ministers cannot be forgotten," the Bihar CM said and added, "He was not just a leader but a parent to us. We got an opportunity to learn under his leadership and guidance and serve the people."
Both Fernandes and Kumar were among the founders of Samata Party floated in the 1990s. Later, Fernandes merged Samata Party with Kumar's Janata Dal-United.
Bihar is said to be the "karmabhoomi" of Fernandes, from where he was elected to Parliament for several terms. His role in the "JP Movement" is also fondly recalled by the state leaders with deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi saying, "In 1977, when he fought the Lok Sabha poll from Muzaffarpur while being incarcerated, even I had canvassed for him for two days with his iconic handcuffed photographs. He had won by record votes."
Recalling another incidence, Modi said, "Once I met him on an aeroplane while he was the defence minister. He was seated in on the last seat of the economy class with 7-8 files surrounding him. He always had books around him when he retired for the day."
Bihar Governor Lalji Tandon, former chief ministers Jagannath Mishra and Jitan Ram Manjhi, former JD-U chief Sharad Yadav and several other leaders of the state also paid rich tributes towards Fernandes on Tuesday.
