He's my George!

Remember Leila Kabir? The estranged wife of George Fernandes is back to look after him — this has led to a dispute as to who is the authentic spokesperson for him. So far, Jaya Jaitley has been the eyes and ears of the former socialist stormy petrel, issuing statements on his behalf and organising his affairs after his health problems mounted a few years ago. Leila, in a message to close friends and supporters, has said that the column ‘From the pen of George Fernandes’ in the socialist magazine The Other Side should not be taken seriously as it did not reflect her husband’s views. She has said that ‘someone else’ writes the column and it might be used to sour Fernandes’ relationship with the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Leila says that Kumar had very generously accommodated her husband in the Rajya Sabha even after he had been misled into contesting the recent Lok Sabha poll as an independent against the official JD (U) candidate.