Puttur student met George at Leh camp

Two NCC cadets from Dakshina Kannada had met George Fernandes at the NCC National Integration Camp organised at Leh in August 2001, when he was the Union defence minister.

Among the total 15 cadets from Karnataka-Goa region, Rohith Patali from St Philomena College, Puttur and Muralidhar from NMC, Sullia, were from Dakshina Kannada.

In a tweet, Rohith has said, “This is my cherished memory of a true great leader of India. Had the privilege to meet the then Defence Minister George Fernandes at Leh during an NCC camp, where he had come visiting”.

Recalling his experience of meeting Fernandes, Rohith said, “Definitely it was a great feeling of having met defence minister of the country. Patriotic fervour was high in the air as the camp was organised within two years of Kargil war. In fact, it was the first camp to held in Leh.”

“On learning that I was from Mangaluru, George sir immediately began conversing with me in Tulu language. He had asked about the situation back in Mangaluru. It was a memorable meeting with George Fernandes as a defense minister he was very down to earth,” Rohith has recollected with gratitude.