CHAIN REACTION George Fernandes                           1975   George Fernandeswas never a stranger to controversy, whether in chains during the Emergency or as a minister in the Janata Party government. He revelled in his maverick status. In 1979, India Today quoted him saying, "I am an outsider. I don't belong to the establishment." As for his threat to quit the Union Cabinet, India Today said, "The act, a Fernandes special, bore an uncanny resemblance to the opening scenes of the spectacular nation-wide railway strike he spearheaded in 1974."