Brothers of ailing former union minister George Fernandes on Saturday rubbished reports about a family feud over sharing of his property and said there was "suspicion" about the return of the estranged wife of the former firebrand socialist leader.
"We are not in a battle for (Fernandes') assets", Fernandes' three brothers -- Michael, Aloysius and Richard -- said while describing reports of the family feud for property as "irresponsible and mischievous".
The remarks came amid reports that a feud has broken out among his family and friends over sharing of property of the 79-year-old former defence minister, who has been suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Fernandes' estranged wife Leila Kabir and their only child Sean, who lives in the US, are locked in a battle with his long-time political associate and confidante Jaya Jaitly and Richard Fernandes, one of his four brothers.
Doubting the intention of Leila, returning after a gap of 25 years, Richard and Michael, a Bangalore-based trade union leader, said, "If a reunion had taken place then it is a different thing. In the absence of it, there is some suspicion. But we do not want to get into it".
"We are neither with the estranged family nor with Jaya, but with George," they said.
{{/usCountry}}"We are neither with the estranged family nor with Jaya, but with George," they said.
{{/usCountry}}The brothers alleged that George Fernandes had been confined to the house and not allowed to meet anyone, describing it as "unfortunate".