Want to be reborn as a Vietnamese, George Fernandes once said
Hyderabad, Jan 29 : "If there is a rebirth, I would like to be reborn as a Vietnamese," George Fernandes had once said.
Addressing the annual conference of Karnataka Planters' Association fifteen years ago in Bengaluru when he was the defence minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet, Fernandes described the Vietnamese as "a disciplined, committed and determined lot".
Observing that Vietnam had a large share of the world coffee market, he said, "I am not grudging that; I am an admirer of Vietnam" and heaped praise on the Southeast Asian country and its people for their rapid progress.
"If there is a rebirth, I would like to be reborn as a Vietnamese", Fernandes, who was born in Manguluru, said. "They are ready to die for their commitment."
Fernandes had said he was India's first defence minister to have visited Vietnam. He noted that three million Vietnamese had been killed in conflicts with the US, France and China.
According to him, the country was leaving India behind in per capita income.
"After all the devastation that Vietnam had to go through... none that we (India) had to go through in recent years," the veteran socialist said.
He cited Vietnam as an example as to how a country can be determined and innovative and think 100 years ahead.
Fernandes passed away Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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