Murli Deora

Early life

Deora was born in Mumbai, and received his BA from Mumbai University. His family came from Laxmangarh in Rajasthan.

Landmark case

In 2001, Deora won a landmark Supreme Court case that ended smoking in public places. In the absence of statutory provisions at that time, the Court prohibited smoking in public places such as auditoriums, hospital buildings, health institutions, educational institutions, libraries, court buildings, public offices, and public conveyances, including the railways.

"Tobacco is universally regarded as one of the major public health hazards and is responsible directly or indirectly for an estimated eight lakh deaths annually in the country. It has also been found that treatment of tobacco related diseases and the loss of productivity caused therein cost the country almost Rs. 13,500 crores annually, which more than offsets all the benefits accruing in the form of revenue and employment generated by tobacco industry".

Political career

A successful businessman, Deora started his political career in the Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1968 when he was elected as a Corporator. In 1977 Deora was elected Mayor of Mumbai – one of the youngest ever. Deora first contested the Lok Sabha polls from the prestigious South Mumbai constituency in 1980 but lost to the Janata Party's RatansinghRajda. In the subsequent election, Deora defeated BJP's Jayawantiben Mehta by a huge margin. He was re-elected in 1989 and 1991 but lost to Mehta in 1996 and 1999 before his son, Milind, defeated Mehta to be elected from the same constituency in 2004.

Deora was President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee for 22 years from 1981 to 2003.

Deora was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2004, where he served until his death. From 29 January 2006 to 18 January 2011 he was appointed as Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas From 18 January 2011 to 12 July 2011 he was appointed as Minister of Corporate Affairs

The industrialist and social worker-turned-politician began his work with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation in 1968 when he was elected corporator. Later, in 1977, Deora was elected mayor of Mumbai with the support of Shiv Sena. Known for his close relations with politicians of all political parties, he first contested the Lok Sabha polls from Mumbai South constituency in 1980 but lost to the Janata Party's Ratansingh Rajda though, in the subsequent election, Deora defeated BJP's Jayawantiben Mehta by a huge margin. He was re-elected in 1989, 1991 but lost to Mehta in 1996 and 1999 before his son, Milind, defeated Mehta to go to the Lok Sabha from the same constituency in 2004. Deora is a trusted aide of the Gandhi family in Mumbai. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2004 and was inducted in the Union cabinet as petroleum minister in January 2006.

He was president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee for 22 years from 1981 to 2003.

In the Congress re-election in 2009, Deora retained the portfolio of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the second government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Free computer education

As Vice-Chairman of Bhavan'sGandhi Institute of Computer Technology, Deora made it his mission to spread computer literacy for better job opportunities by kickstarting the Free Computer Education Program.

In 2000, he brought Bill Gates to the centre, which received a US $5million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its good work.

Today, the program has over 56 centres all over India, and over 3,56,519 people have benefited from it.

Eye camps

Deora believed everyone had the right to see properly, and organised over 78 eye camps in Mumbai, where more than 5000 to 7000 people have had their eyes tested and receive free spectacles, as well as free eye surgery and in every camp 300 to 400 Free Cataract operation with Pathological check up for operation has been done.

Tributes

After Deora's death, both houses of Parliament were adjourned on the first day of the winter session as a mark of respect for him, as well as other members who had died.

Tributes came in regardless of party lines, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his sadness and describing Deora as "a dedicated leader," whose "warm nature made him popular across party lines."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley penned a front-page tribute to Deora in The Times of India, calling him "extremely helpful" and someone who's "strength lay in the fact that he never criticized even those he did not like".

HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh said, "he was a very warm and kind-hearted person, and never turned away any person who came seeking his help and always kept his word."[7]

Pranay Gupta, for The Huffington Post, noted that, "at a personal level, he was incorruptible", and that, "perhaps more than any Indian politician of his generation, Murli was genuinely liked in public and private. That's because he had a good word for all, and extended a helpful hand to many. To be a politician means to serve — and serve Murli did, in a land where ministers and bureaucrats often ignore the masses except during election time, where high officials expect their constituents to genuflect and undertake a thousand salaams before even being allowed to enter the corridors of power. But Murli's door was always open."

Shankar Aiyar spoke about Deora's humble beginnings, about "the Murli who wore the same set of clothes — washed at night and ironed "with a lotta with coal in it"; the Murli who hung outside the neighbour's window to listen to songs and studied under the street lamp at Babulnath", and how, as a powerful politician, he used his contacts to help the poor and needy. How "every new billion-dollar acquaintance was converted into a philanthropist — convinced to donate a heart lung machine to a municipal hospital, pay for an eye camp, fund the computer literacy for jobs programme at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and more."

Personal life

His son Milind Murli Deora was a Lok Sabha member from Mumbai.