By IANS,
New Delhi : Thirtyfour-year-old Milind Deora, who assumed office Wednesday as minister of state (MoS) for Communications and IT, said he is not a “replacement” for his father Murli Deora, who resigned as minister citing old age.
“I don’t think, and I really go by this theory, of being a replacement of anybody. I think he (Murli Deora) has had a very considerable innings in the party and public life for 43 years and he is still a parliamentarian. I have been an MP for seven years,” said Milind Deora.
Many say that 74-year-old Congress veteran Murli Deora, who was corporate affairs minister, opted out to ensure a berth for his son.
Brushing that aside, Milind Deora said: “The fact is that my party leadership, Mr. (Rahul) Gandhi himself and the prime minister thought that I can take the responsibility of being an MoS in this ministry and that is my singular focus right now.”
“The decision on (whether) somebody deserves a cabinet berth or an MoS, whether they deserve to be a minister at all or not, it is ultimately to be left to the prime minister and Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi,” Deora told NDTV.
Milind Deora, a jazz guitarist, is a two-time member of the Lok Sabha from South Mumbai.