Life has come full circle, says Milind Deora in his maiden speech in Rajya Sabha as Shiv Sena member

New Delhi: Milind Deora, now a Rajya Sabha member from the Shiv Sena, on Friday recalled how the party's founder Bal Thackeray supported his father Murli Deora to become the mayor of Mumbai 47 years ago and now the same party has sent him to the upper house at the age of 47 years.

"In many ways, life has come a full circle because in 1977, 47 years ago, late Bala Saheb Thackeray supported my late father become the mayor of Mumbai. And today, 47 years later, at the age of 47, the president of Shiv Sena and Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, has enabled me to represent Mumbai and Maharashtra in Rajya Sabha," he said.

Remembering his late father and Congress leader Murli Deora, the newly elected Shiv Sena MP said he passed away during his tenure as a Rajya Sabha member.

"He always taught me to stand up for myself and to keep loyalty for my country before loyalty for the party. I am sure today he is with me to guide me in this on new journey," said Deora in his maiden speech in the upper house during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to The President's Address.

Earlier this year in January, Deora had quit the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena, bringing an end to his family's 55-year association with the party.

Deora said he is returning to Parliament after a decade and a lot has changed from then besides having a new building.

On the President's address, he said it has an articulate outline of the government's plans for the next five years and highlights the achievements of the last 10 years.

Deora further said several people, including his former colleagues, while analysing the recently concluded Lok Sabha results, have different opinions but the fact remains that Narendra Modi is second person to be sworn in as prime minister of India for the third consecutive time.

According to him, globally there is a sense of anti-incumbency, which is due to a variety of reasons, such as growing aspirations, demanding voters, demographic transitions and social media making the people more impatient.

"In the last 10 years alone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has seen six prime ministers of Pakistan, five prime ministers of UK, four presidents of Sri Lanka, three presidents of France, two presidents of the USA and finally one leader of opposition in Lok Sabha after Sushma Swaraj," he added.

He also mentioned about "Four C factors", which are "China, City and Commuting and Climate Change" as a concern for the country. According to him, some see it as a challenge, however, he look it as an opportunity.

On China, Deora said it has a trade deficit along with trust deficit with both developed world and the developing economies, while India holds trust surplus.

Now most of the companies are working on the "China +1 policy" by moving their manufacturing to some other country, and India should leverage this policy, he added.

"If the states compete aggressively with each other, it will make India a developed economy," he said, adding there is a need to skill the women workforce.

He also spoke about rapid urbanisation and said Mumbai would have a population of over three crore in next six years. There is a need to reap demographic dividend from the influx of people from rural to urban areas.

Deora also said India can become a world leader in offshore wind energy sector and outlined the importance of organic substitute for fertilisers.

G K Vasan of the TMC (M) said the President's speech has a very clear roadmap of the NDA government. He also raised the issue of Sengol, which is now installed in the new Parliament building by the Modi government, and said the opposition parties of this country are letting down the cultural legacy of south India.

He also raised the issue of the recent death of over 60 people in Tamil Nadu by consuming spurious liquor. This man-made diaster could have been averted if the state government had taken timely action against the liquor mafia, he added.

Anil Sukhdeorao Bonde of the BJP hailed the initiative taken by the Modi government and thanked the President for mentioning them in her speech.

Ram Chander Jangra, also of the BJP, said in 2024, after 100 years of Independence, India would be a developed nation and may be a rising global power.