ormer defence minister George Fernandes died on Tuesday morning in Delhi. He had been ailing for the past few years. He was 88 years old.

Fernandes, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, had been bed-ridden for more than eight years, family sources said.

He had a cold and cough and was taken to the Max Hospital in Saket by his wife, Liela Fernandes, earlier in the day, when doctors said that the veteran leader was already dead.