138 quotes found
"Without fear or favour whatever successes I have been able to make of my life, I owe to the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi who could make man out of dust. I was greatly inspired in my youth by a remark Jawaharlal Nehru had made, ‘Success comes to those that dare and act...’ In fact this remark was my motto in life."
"Despite perplexing diversities, our people retain a remarkable dynamism and spirit of adventure. Our resilience springs from our well-established traditions of patience and perseverance, tolerance and compassion... and it is to this eternal and immortal India that we rededicate ourselves today."
"The President of India is the constitutional head , who has no policy and programme of his own. It is the Government of the day which chooses the policy and programme to be pursued within the framework of the constitution…[would] protect and defend the Constitution."
"Unless the choice was unanimous, he would not throw in the towel."
"Madame Prime Minister [Indira Gandhi] do not mislead the house or the Honorable Member. The speaker has no hand to sending the Members of Parliament. He only comes to know from the news papers the next day as to which delegation is going outside the country. It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister has unnecessarily dragged the name of the speaker in the matter."
"The Speaker is seen, but not heard and the President is neither seen nor heard. He would very much would a President who is neither seen nor heard, but who decides. I would like to do something silently."
"In June 1977 or thereabouts, while I was still Speaker of the Lok Sabha, I wanted to go to Bombay during a weekend to call on Jayaprakash Narayan who had come back from the United States after medical treatment. I thought I might mention the matter to Prime Minister, Morarji Desai. His reaction was uncharitable to Jayaprakash Narayan as it was unworthy of him. He asked me if it was really necessary for me to “Lionize” JP. It is an admitted fact that JP’s prominent role in bringing opposition parties together under one banner was widely acknowledged. It was also well-known that JP had been instrumental in Desai’s becoming Prime Minister"
"I recalled to him [Morarji Desai] our long association in the freedom movement and after and how I always treated him as an elder brother. I pointed out, however, that in the national interest a distinction had to be maintained between personal relationship and public responsibilities in the discharge of our duties. I referred to the growing disenchantment and disillusionment of our people"
"The presidents of India carried their own cultural dress code within and without India. They remained among the common people. When he became the president, he marched from his farm to Delhi to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan."
"Indian politician who was the sixth president of India (1977-82) and a member of the Janata Party; he was first nominated for the presidency in 1969 by the Congress Party, but, in a divisive move, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi supported V.V. Giri."
"He was not a weak president and he did indulge in politics. He cautioned Prime Minister Morarji Desai on appointment of V.Shankar as principal secretary, Further, he vetoed the outgoing Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s proposal for a broadcast to the nation after his resignation from the post. He also warned the caretaker Charan Singh government not to take any major policy decision."
"He was a true son of the soil and a farmer till his very last breath. His birth took place in a farming community in Illuru in May 1913 of the district of Ananthapuramu, which is also the working place of one of India’s most revered philosophers and former President Dr. Sarvapali Radhakrishnan."
"As Speaker, he admitted for the first time, a No-Confidence Motion to be taken up for discussion on the same day as the President's address to a joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament. He believed that urgent matters should not be delayed by taking recourse to traditions and precedents. It was during his tenure as Speaker that for the first time in the history of the Lok Sabha, the House sentenced a person to imprisonment for committing contempt of the House by shouting slogans and throwing pamphlets on the floor of the House from the Visitors' Gallery."
"He was the main architect of modern day Andhra Pradesh. As early as 1951, he was elected President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress... He took on his broad shoulders the burden of finding solutions to the problems of administration and integration that arose at the birth of this state. This experience enabled him provide effective leadership as the first Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh, following incorporation of Telengana into the state as part of Linguistic Reorganisation. He served as Chief Minister in two spells for a total of over 5 years."
"He combined three different qualities - those of a good party leader, Administrator and parliamentarian. He devoted a major part of his life in Congress Organization and shifted seamlessly from Organisation to Government and vice versa. He had no hesitation in giving up his Chief Ministership in 1960 on being elected President of the Indian National Congress, following Indira Gandhi. He went on to be elected President of the Indian National Congress thrice consecutively at its Bangalore, Bhavnagar and Patna sessions from 1960 to 1962."
"He applied himself with vigour to the development and modernisation of his State and the progress of its people. He is credited with giving shape to the plans for construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar, the Srisailam Project, the Sriram Sagar and the Vamsadhara projects which are, among the most important milestones in the development of this region. If today, Andhra Pradesh is hailed as the granary of South India, much credit is due to him."
"He was greatly admired for his dignity in word and deed as well as his iron will in taking decisions and implementing them. In 1964, he displayed high standards in public life by resigning as Chief Minister, following adverse remarks by the Supreme Court against the Government of Andhra Pradesh for not filing an affidavit in the Bus routes nationalisation case."
"His tenure as President was a period of unparelled political turmoil and saw him swear in three governments led by Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Indira Gandhi. He took historic decisions on a number of important issues. By virtue of his long years in public life and close association with leaders from all sections of opinion, he was able to be a steady hand at the wheel of state. His wisdom, friendliness and accessibility endeared him to people belonging to all walks of life. He lent distinction to the highest office of the land by his idealism and patriotism."
"He had great compassion for the poor. He often voiced disquiet over the fact that minimum standards of nutrition, clothing, shelter, medical care and education were beyond the reach of many sections of the people of India and called for determined efforts to address these deficiencies. He was also deeply concerned about the weakening of traditional values that have enabled diverse Indians live together in peace for centuries."
"As Speaker of the Lok Sabha he brought glory to the house of the people. He had been one of the most successful speakers of the Lok Sabha. Humour and wit had always been his close friends. And he could tackle all the difficult situations in a very tactful manner. He always tried to act as an independent speaker, even though politically he belonged to the ruling party. i.e. the Congress party."
"After he resigned from the post of Speaker in July 1969, to contest the office of the President, he was an official candidate for the Congress Party. But this election created a history on the Indian Political scene. The Congress was split into two; the Congress candidate was defeated by the congress itself and an independent candidate [V.V.Giri] in his place was elected."
"After the turmoil in the Congress Party, he chose to retire to home town Anantpur, and devoted most of his time to agriculture, which had always been very dear to him, as he belonged to the peasantry family. For quite some time he remained in wilderness, and had been buying time for an appropriate opportunity to re-netter politics."
"[He] as the veteran freedom fighter of 1942 Quit Indian Movement joined the JP Movement for a total revolution and re-entered politics in May 1975."
"He and a large number of prominent Congress leaders had deserted Indira Gandhi to join the second freedom movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan on his call for a total revolution."
"After Indira Gandhi revoked the emergency and declared general elections, he contested for General Elections, won from the Nandyal Parliamentary Constituency and became Speaker in the Lok Sabha as the democracy had been restored after two years of emergency, which came about through democratic process of the ballot."
"He having been defeated in the year 1969, became the President of this great country, on 21 July 1977. He was perhaps the first President who had the good fortune of having been appointed unopposed, whereas all other incumbents had to face contest for this office."
"I do not fear a threat of war from Pakistan. We (India) are ten times bigger. If Pakistan were to attack us, we will smash them."
"The best economy for India is when the Government functions more like an umpire in a football match rather than a participant, unfortunately the Government is the umpire, the goalkeeper and the centre forward..."
"I'm in politics because I want to be the prime minister some day. At 41, I'm old enough to run the country, though young enough to wait."
"Raj Narain is a liability anywhere. When out of power, he behaves like a wrestler, which he is. It's martial art for its own sake, not for the sake of achieving an objective. And when in power, I don't trust this man at all. His conduct after he was thrown out of the Cabinet is all on record now. Like a worm, he crawled to Sanjay Gandhi to conspire against the prime minister. He was called a bar by Sanjay Gandhi, yet he smiled. It's unprecedented shamelessness."
"I still have a lot of admiration for RSS. They're disciplined. They're prepared to sacrifice. They love their nation. But I'm not their slave. I didn't quit the Janata Party to join BJP when the RSS ordered each of its friends and followers to do so. It was an immoral act. I've never compromised on principles at RSS's behest."
"I will be able to consolidate the national democratic forces, largely because of my clear identification against the communists. I also have a better relationship with Morarji Desai and Chaudhary Charan Singh. I sincerely believe that unless these two leaders come together it is not possible to counter the Soviet-inspired Left Front in the country."
"During the last few years, the party organisation has been neglected at all levels. There has been a complete neglect of party finances, front organisations and district level committees. I will concentrate on the organisation. Maybe because of my Jan Sangh background, I will do better. If I become the president, half the BJP will join the Janata."
"The people must know that V.P. Singh, the man leading the Opposition today, is untruthful, conspiratorial and lacks an ideology. His commitment to fight corruption is totally shallow. The people must know that Ramakrishna Hegde who claims to be Mr Clean is the biggest looter of the people of Karnataka: on every possible transaction of the Karnataka Government he has made a cut, either directly or through his relatives."
"Sanjay Gandhi admired me for my guts. We got along very well. In the case of Rajiv Gandhi, I will be frank, I find the vibes right. I can't not like him. I will not deny I find his company pleasant. He is very, very well behaved with me. I have met him in his office five times in the last year, in connection with China."
"I will accept money from anybody as long as it is Indian. As a good Brahmin it is my right to accept money. When I ask a businessman to give me money I speak as if I am demanding it. I collect money for the party. I have collected money for the Lok Dal(A), for the Janata Party elections and there is no secret about it. But my personal life has not been aggrandised by it."
"My mission has been to liquidate the Janata Dal. It is an illegitimate organisation."
"The operation Blue Star was supported by the BJP."
"If the Pakistan prime minister thinks he can threaten us with war, let him know that 98 crore Indians are ready for it."
"The US wants only 51 per cent adherence as against 100 per cent adherence demanded by Russia."
"If I can persuade Rajiv Gandhi and Chandra Shekhar to come together, I have sufficient self-confidence to make the prime minister Chandra Shekhar accommodate this concept of liberalism."
"V. P. Singh participated in the whole thing of Bofors. He and Arun Nehru were in cahoots. They misled the people. V. P. Singh held talks with Bofors and Swedish government officials in Stockholm on June 10 1985."
"Last week's measures increasing raising import surcharges on a wide range of industrial products run counter to India's commitments to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to reduce tariffs. Once we have managed the IMF loan negotiations we will get that (approach) reversed."
"National politics has become devalued today because of casteism, communalism and regionalism. A few seats from one state is enough to launch you nationally."
"I was later called by Morarji Desai who said I should not press the matter as it was in the national interest that the basement be kept sealed. The government has something to hide and the issue should be thoroughly investigated."
"Once, at a get together, I called him my guru and explained the gurukul system of our rishis. He said: "Ah! That is what the US needs." Samuelson was a rishi in the way he treated his chosen students and saw them through difficulties. He was a great and gentle guru."
"Earlier, the scams were related to the defence deals, where things were difficult. Now, they have got into things within the country. And since there are lots of players, some of them spill the beans."
"The recent announcement that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. Karunanidhi will patronize screening of the mega budget movie on Saint Thomas and his fictitious missionary activities in the first century in Tamil Nadu, read with the Union Government's decision to cancel the allotment of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board intended for creating facilities for housing and parking Hindu pilgrims, are a part of the pernicious and sinister attempt to put the Hindus under siege, about which I have been warning the nation for the last three years."
"It is first of all factually correct that Muslims of India have DNA wise the same DNA as us. And therefore there is nothing wrong with them acknowledging that their ancestors are Hindus. If they say Hindus are not their ancestors, then who could be their ancestors? Now after all we created Pakistan for those Muslims who didn't consider themselves as ready to live with their Hindu brothers."
"Fanatic Muslims consider Hindu-dominated India an unfinished chapter of Islamic conquests."
"Amartya Sen is not Indian. He had lost his Indian-ness after he left his Bengali ex-wife and married two foreign females. He has lived abroad and only visits the country for a couple of months, which cannot make you Indian."
"It has a very small life span. It is a party led by people committed to naxal ideology. They are not improving the society, but rather disrupting it."
"If Bangladesh does not agree to take back its people, then the country should compensate by giving land to India."
"I feel that only those who have been oppressed by the society and have been forced to live a backward life should given reservations. If Muslims want to study, then should be given scholarships, good schools, But Muslims and Christians can't have reservation as they have ruled our country."
"He (President Obama) should mind his own business. Two million Hindus who are working there (in the US) are not allowed to build their temples; they are not allowed to celebrate Diwali. He only gives lectures here. He says in America they have worked out a harmony. In America, the majority was brutalising the minority. In India, for 800 years, the Islamic minority was brutalising the majority Hindus."
"A mosque is not a religious place. It is just a building. It can be demolished any time. If anyone disagrees with me on this, I am ready to have a debate on the issue. I got this information from people of Saudi Arabia."
"We Hindus offer Lord Krishna's package to Muslims--give us 3 temples and keep 39,997 masjids. I hope Muslim leaders don't become Duryodhans."
"There is only one way to purify JNU. Shut down the university for four months, question every student, especially those pursuing courses in political science and sociology who are extending their stay by several years while insulting the nation."
"There is a need to make public the Operation Bluestar files so that people know the whole truth."
"The Indian State instead of the encouraging objective rendering of the history have encouraged few vested interests to hijack the historical narrative. This has resulted in present situation where the history, which is taught in our schools and colleges, is the British imperialist-sponsored one, with the intent to destroy our history... An accurate history should not only record the periods of glory but the moments of degeneration, of the missed opportunities, and of the failure to forge national unity at crucial junctures in time. It should draw lessons for the future generations from costly errors in the past... It is disturbing to read the amount of intellectual investment that has been made by the forces that are inimical to our country. These forces have penetrated into our democratic institutions to hollow them from inside."
"Operation Bluestar was a mischievous blunder and it should not have been done."
"The main problem is his (Narendra Modi) extraordinarily unhealthy centralization of decision making. And the utter disregard that party president (Amit Shah) has for the workers."
"This is not a Modi wave, but a Hindutva wave. Hindus are rising above caste. The younger generation of voters is very important. They are young nationalists. They don’t care about caste."
"Ninety-five per cent of the credit should go to P. V. Narasimha Rao, the execution was by Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia but in terms of conception, it was mine. (About 1991 economic liberalisation)"
"This family is totally anti-national as far as India is concerned. (but) I must tell you this much: Rajiv Gandhi and I were very, very close friends, extremely close friends. In Parliament when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, he used to sit next to me along the aisle. After he lost office, he and I used to meet at 2 am everyday for two hours. So I know almost everything about the circumstances in which he got married, and what the relationship between the two (Rajiv and Sonia) was. I thought well of Rajiv. He was a great patriot, thought he would make a great Prime Minister if he came back for the second time around, and I supported him. Openly, on the floor of Parliament, I said, he didn’t get the Bofors money, Ottavio Quattrocchi (Sonia’s close friend) got it, and these were proved quite later, too late."
"I cannot say I am anti-Nehru-Gandhi family per se, but I certainly was, from Day 1 anti-Nehru. Even when I was a school student, I took an intuitive dislike for Jawaharlal Nehru. There was no explanation. I just had it! The dislike was continuous as I learnt more and more about him. Therefore, to say that I have a pathological hatred for the Nehru-Gandhi family is not correct. Yes, I never liked Nehru, but that was pure policy. And, of course, I later on came to know that he gave up the offer of the UN Security Council, and then what he did on Kashmir, and the files I saw when I was one of the senior-most ministers in the Chandra Shekhar government. All this only bolstered that view."
"We're already a Hindu Rashtra. Right from the beginning, our Constitution mentioned faith, unlike any other constitution in the world. It bans cow slaughter. A Uniform Civil Code is also something that a Hindu Rashtra relies on."
"Recently, the abrogation of Article 370, the Special Protection Group for Sonia Gandhi and the CAA were three issues on which I was asked to speak at the Parliament. Do you know that the first resolution of the Congress party was to provide citizenship to those Hindus and Sikhs facing religious persecution? Gandhi and Manmohan Singh endorsed this. This Bill has nothing to do with the Muslims of India."
"The CAA is a commitment that we have to fulfil."
"Pervez Musharraf is a good friend. I was once asked to inaugurate his office in Rawalpindi because his mother wanted a Brahmin to inaugurate it. He's truly integrated with our culture."
"Income tax must be abolished. We must also increase the Fixed Deposit interest rates."
"Sachin Pilot is a right man in wrong party."
"I’m an ordinary member of the BJP. If one were to say that the BJP is represented by Modi and Amit Shah, I have nothing to do with them. If BJP is essentially a party floated by the RSS, I’m a part of that."
"I meet BJP MPs in the RSS shakhas. I sit with the BJP MPs (in Rajya Sabha), who are all extremely friendly. Yes, but it is a highly disciplined party. They don’t like to disobey decisions taken at the top. I think that is wrong in a democratic society. I’m very critical of the complete lack of knowledge of economics that is being foisted on us."
"Modi is ungrateful, and no one can doubt my talent for some of the ministries and my knowledge of the subject. They did not even let me become an MP. Eventually, it was the RSS that had to move in and it took till 2016 before they could budge him."
"He (Asaduddin Owaisi) polarises Hindus in our favour, but whether that is deliberate or not, I can’t say. I like Owaisi. He is my friend. If you see us meeting in Central Hall (Parliament), then you will feel like two buddies are meeting."
"Varun Gandhi is a nice chap, hardworking, intelligent, studies a lot, writes books, and he has won the Lok Sabha election three times. The party should use him. You have to get out of this notion that the BJP is owned by Modi and Amit Shah."
"Everyone thought that nothing could nail the Gandhi family, Swamy showed it’s possible."
"Swami is prime ministerial material because of his integrity and honesty in the manner that he has pursued the 2G Spectrum scam."
"He (Swamy) was very well spoken of, and he was very popular."
"I saw an upset-looking gentleman alongside me watching the fire. I asked why he was there. He said that all the notes and research for his current book, inside that building, was literally going up in smoke. That was Subramanian Swamy, then a young economics instructor."
"He (Swamy) spoke about his Swadeshi plan for 10 percent economic growth, and he mesmerised everybody."
"He (Swamy) speaks what he feels and believes, and he is not afraid to declare his views publicly."
"I disagree with Swamy on most issues, but I always find his ideas interesting when it comes to matters of economics. You may ignore his Hindutva chants and his rants against the Gandhis– but listen carefully when he speaks on economics. Amit Mitra, my Presidency college classmate and West Bengal’s finance minister, once told me over dinner in Aveek Sarkar’s residence that of all the people who had taught him in Harvard, Swamy was by far the best. And Mitra, remember, studied under Manmohan Singh and Paul Samuelson."
"I came across Subramanian Swamy as associate professor in Harvard in 1967. I was his student for one semester. He was younger than me. I was there with my wife and she is a good cook. I'm merely saying that he was fond of all good food and my wife would produce something which would vaguely satisfy him and so he would come over. We got along extremely well even when I finished my course with him, we were still very good friends. I couldn't afford a car, so we went together on weekend picnics. I'll say Swamy is a brilliant man, Swamy is an intelligent man. We used to be such good friends that when his daughter got married, I did a lot of work."
"If Dr Swamy talks sense he is an SJP (Samajwadi Janata Party) leader, when he talks nonsense he is the Janata Party president."
"Academics and observers of the academy have for several weeks now been professing shock at what even one of the perpetrators has called unprecedented at Harvard – the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ striking of uncontroversial economics courses taught by now-controversial Indian politician Subramanian Swamy, without even inviting him to defend himself. But we should not be surprised. Punishment for uttering politically incorrect ideas, often with little regard for fair procedure, has plagued Harvard students, faculty members, and even, in the eyes of some, one now-former Harvard president over the past two decades. The disgraceful action taken against Professor Swamy is par for the course."
"If Subramanian Swamy did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. He is a multifaceted intellectual dynamo. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha six times and Rajya Sabha three times. He earned a PhD from Harvard University standing first. He also taught at the university. During Emergency he became the Indian Scarlet Pimpernel. An arrest warrant had been issued against him. Regardless, he turned up at Parliament House, signed the Rajya Sabha attendance register and eloped."
"In the present state of appalling gloom which has given birth to such wreckers of national unity as V.P. Singh and L.K. Advani, Swamy in comparison appears to be a man of patriotic commitment despite his provocative idiosvncracies."
"Not taking risks one doesn't understand is often the best form of risk management."
"On the retail side, I particularly want to emphasize the use of the unique ID, Aadhaar, in building individual credit histories. This will be the foundation of a revolution in retail credit."
"Promoters do not have a divine right to stay in charge regardless of how badly they mismanage an enterprise, nor do they have the right to use the banking system to recapitalize their failed ventures."
"Expectations are high. Clearly I am not a superman. There is a little bit of euphoria in India. I have a wife and two kids."
"If you are an outsider looking at India, learn to filter out both the irrational exuberance and the excessive pessimism. We're subject to both. You will become manic-depressive if you follow our moods."
"A 007 James Bond image is very dangerous for a central banker to have."
"Indeed, if what you do offends me but does not harm me otherwise, there should be a very high bar for prohibiting your act. After all, any ban, and certainly any vigilante acts to enforce it, may offend you as much, or more, than the offence to me. Excessive political correctness stifles progress as much as excessive license and disrespect."
"Improving the opportunities across the board is extremely important to sustain the legitimacy of wealth. If a whole horde of people, whole sections of society don't feel they have the opportunities, then the focus is going to be on those who have it and who have made it and say that is illegitimate."
"I think we have still to get to a place where we feel satisfied. We have this saying - "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king". We are a little bit that way."
"If Rajan gets one more term you can safely say bye to all investment and therefore high growth in this country … he’s from [University of] Chicago so he is not fit for this country … there they believe that more free market the better but in India market failures take place and you’ve got to correct for that."
"Mr Raghuram Rajan is an outstanding man who understands central banking. He is probably only one in the world among the crowds of professors at central banks that actually has a good grip on monetary policies and what you can or cannot achieve with them. He should get the Noble Prize in economics but the others are all money printers at heart, all of them."
"Incidentally, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Raghuram Rajan, has single-handedly brought a huge slowdown to the Indian manufacturing sector and exports. As a doctor, he has believed that the best way to bring down the temperature of a patient (i.e., inflation) is to kill him (investment starvation)."
"In a democracy it is the duty of the state governments to ban cow slaughter. There are a lot of things to eat in this country apart from cow."
"India will be another Africa, if left to itself."
"In our country, we do sex. But we don't want to talk about it and that is why we have a billion population."
"I don't care who is with me. I want this ban to be implemented because as a doctor I believe that more than any medium, films influence impressionable minds."
"Section 377 of IPC, which criminalizes men who have sex with men, must go."
"We definitely condemn the incident where women were attacked, but the pub culture must stop. It is because of this that youth in the country have taken to drinking in a big way."
"We will teach people to fish, rather than provide them fish. We will bring schemes that will create jobs."
"At a policy level, the government has been moving in parallel on several fronts to liberalise higher education. For instance, the IIM Bill (the Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017) that gives greater autonomy to all IIMs is one such track. For all institutes with NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) score of over 3.5, a higher degree of autonomy is another track."
"This Institute of Eminence selection is a different track that tries to facilitate certain institutes to break into the “Top 500” lists in global education rankings, for all three types of institutes, i.e., public institutions, existing (brownfield) private institutions, and new (greenfield) private institutions. This is definitely a well thought-out move by the government, and India will have more institutes featuring in the top 500 global rankings in the next 10 years because of this initiative."
"One of the key policy objectives was to select such institutes that have the potential to break into the top 500 global rankings. So, those institutes that were sectorally focused, such as all IIMs, TIFR, TISS, ISI, Agri Research Institutes, etc, which are otherwise of a high calibre, were not considered for the IOE tag."
"We have carefully evaluated all the greenfield applications, with the sole criteria – do they have the required resources, land, team, funding? – to get into the global rankings of 500 institutes. You will be surprised to know the extent of the lack of resources. One of the applicant’s land is under litigation for over seven years, another one had indicated minuscule land size for the proposed institute, many did not have the core team in place, and a few of them had a narrow focus – for e.g., the focus could be limited to design, urbanisation, public health – which will not be eligible for global rankings. So, based on our careful evaluation, only one application had the requisite resources to convince us that it deserves the IOE tag."
"“I am not a box of chocolate waiting to please everyone, I would ultimately do what I feel right for me and then I went ahead to marry the man I love. The fire in me was ignited probably by all those armchair critics but what sailed me through was the desire to show what I was truly capable of. And now no one can take that away from me.”"
"If you have faith and keep moving on, things will eventually fall in place."
"It is a man’s world and to fight back we have to develop a very thick skin. Take criticism very constructively, but at the same time fight back and retain your position."
"Who uses petrol and diesel? Do we go to the vegetable market by cycle? It will keep us healthy and will end pollution. Is petrol and diesel necessary for our health?"
"It was in Rajan’s time as Governor of the RBI that loans were given just based on phone calls from crony leaders and public sector banks in India till today are depending on the government’s equity infusion to get out of that mire."
"I don't eat a lot of onions and garlic, so don't worry. I come from a family that doesn't care much for onions."
"Health and education have never been called freebies. No Indian government has ever denied them. So classifying education and health as freebies, Kerjiwal is trying to bring in a sense of worry and fear in minds of poor. There should be a genuine debate on this matter."
"I have just seen the statements by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. I won't like to comment on that statement, but before one can fix the economy, one needs a correct diagnosis of its ailments and their causes. The government is obsessed with trying to fix blame on its opponent, thus it is unable to find a solution that will ensure revival of the economy."
"Another quit Mizoram notice was served by the MNF on 3 June 1979. This was the only notice which was openly challenged by a chief minister of Mizoram. Brigadier (retd.) Thenphunga Sailo, the chief minister, issued a strong warning to the MNF activists in his speech, which was broadcasted by All India Radio Aizwal on 4 June. Some misguided elements have issued a notice under the caption “Non-Mizo’s” to quit Mizoram before 1st July, 1979; threatening them with dire consequences if they fail to do so. This is politically motivated by self-centred motives and is to prevent peace and prosperity from coming to Mizoram and therefore is not in the interest of Mizoram. I may sound a note of warning to those who either out of mischief or for imaginary political gains indulges in rumour mongering and false propaganda. It is the duty of all right thinking people to ensure the safety of their non-Mizo brethrens. People belonging to Christian faith having true faith in God will not allow such rancour to prevail."
"He further said, “A Hindu is a Hindu only in Hindu-Muslim riots. On 15th August and 26th January, he becomes an Indian. Otherwise, he becomes Marathi, Gujarati, etc. When you go into the states Hindus get divided into castes. And in Maharashtra, this politics of dividing Hindus into castes has picked up pace after Sharad Pawar formed Nationalist Congress Party in 1999. When we are going to unite as Hindus?”"
"This appears to be a pattern: whenever Muslim riots or bomb attacks target Hindus, it is thought acceptable to accuse the victims, in order to avoid possible revolts. Thus in 1993 in Mumbai, after eleven coordinated bomb blasts in Hindu majority areas, which killed 257 people and injured 713, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar quickly cooked up a twelfth explosion ... in a Muslim area! “I have deliberately misled people,” he explained later, to show that both communities had been affected.” And to portray both communities’ potential to behave as “terrorists”. Truth and clarity of mind are the casualties."
"After the attack, CM Pawar announced that the blasts had occurred in 13 places, though in real, there had been 12 blasts in total that day. So, why did the chief minister lie? Pawar made a call to tell this lie after he found out that all of the 12 blasts had occurred in Hindu-dominated areas. In an attempt to keep communal violence at bay, Pawar had hurried to the Doordarshan studios and announced that blasts had occurred at 13 places in the city. The 13th place, he named, was Musjid Bunde, a Muslim-dominated locality. Later, when Pawar accepted his lie, he was praised by the Justice Srikrishna Commission."
"Perhaps the only surprise to come out of Pawar's deposition was that he reinforced, though inadvertently, the belief that politicians cannot always be trusted to tell the truth in times of crisis. Pawar told the commission that, following the serial bomb blasts which shattered the city's fragile peace in March 1993, he deliberately lied to the public. He said that in a bid to avert another round of Hindu-Muslim rioting, he had dubbed the blasts as the handiwork of the LTTE. The morality of the statement can be debated endlessly, but the fact remains that he misled the public."
"The blasts, which left 357 people dead and 717 others injured, actually occurred at only 11 places. However, then chief minister Sharad Pawar told the nation that the blasts had occurred at 12 places. This admission came on Sunday from Pawar himself. He said he deliberately lied that the blasts had occurred at 12 places. He was speaking during the 89th edition of the All India Marathi Literary Meet at Dnyanaba-Tukaram Nagari (Hindustan Antibiotics Ground), Pimpri, 15 km from Pune. Pawar said that he did so in the larger interest of the public, and, for that lie, he was even praised by the Justice Srikrishna Commission. He then described the sequence of events. On March 12, 1993, he came to learn from officials that all the 11 blasts had occurred in Hindu-dominated areas. Since it was Pakistan’s plan to foment communal violence, the then chief minister immediately rushed to the Doordarshan studios and announced that blasts had occurred at 12 places in what was then Bombay. The 12th place where Pawar ‘exploded’ the bomb was Masjid Bunder. After this announcement, Hindus and Muslims thought that the blasts were not targeted at any particular community and the government was able to restore normal life fast, Pawar said. In fact, after the serial blasts on Friday, Bombay returned to normalcy on Monday itself, he said. 77“When you are running a state or when you are part of the administration, you are required to lie at times for the larger public interest,” Pawar said. 77When the Justice Srikrishna Commission asked him about the Masjid Bandar blast, Pawar explained the circumstances.The commission even lauded him for the same, he said. That’s one bomb that saved so many lives."
"I absolutely stand by my comment that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is not scientific. There is hardly any evidence to substantiate the theory. Great scientists of the world came out to say there is no evidence available in the world which can prove the theory of evolution is correct."
"Darwin's theory of evolution is wrong. It has already been rejected by scientists some 30-35 years back. It is wrong to say that humans evolved from monkeys and such references should be removed from the science and history school textbooks."
"There was an uproar over Graham Staines. What happened to him and his two children were wrong. But CBI, Odisha Crime Branch, and Justice DP Wadhwa Commission probe concluded that tribals were being converted there. It was the biggest reason that people turned against him."
"However, as time passed, atheists came here, mainly for business purposes. This resulted in nature’s fury at Kedarnath in 2013."
"If you think we have stopped taking steps towards clean Ganga, it is not so. Before any big race, a sprinter stops a bit, assesses the destination and then sprints towards it. So, our destination is October 2018 when we will show it to the world that Ganga is one of the cleanest rivers in the world."
"Deities are not bound to any caste or religion. Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman are not party workers of the BJP; the deities existed even before the existence of the Jana Sangh or before the rule of Mughals and Britishers."
"Owners of bullock carts in villages, create a wound on the back of the ox and when they want their bullock-carts to move faster they strike at the wound. Similarly, these disputes are wounds and marks of slavery on our ‘Bharat Mata’. So long as ‘Gyan Vapi’ continues in its present condition at Banaras and a grave remains in a temple at Pavagarh, it will remind us of the atrocities perpetrated by Aurangzeb including his efforts to convert Hindus to Islam and this would be very painful."
"Narendrabhai used to give an hour long pravachan (discourse) on Mahatma Gandhi’s Vaishnav Jan bhajan as an integral part of training programs for party workers. He would tell us that a BJP karyakarta (worker) should be one who understands and feels the pain of others. A BJP karyakarta should work for the sukha (well-being) of all and feel the dukha (pain) of all. If we want people to trust political leaders, we have to work for the well-being of all segments of society. If BJP karyakartas lead by working for social good, it will strengthen our nation as well as our samaj (society).” It is an intrinsic part of his political vision that building the organisation and recruiting party workers is not enough; we must have the political maturity to carry the samaj with us. If I had kept detailed notes of those training sessions in which Narendrabhai galvanised party workers, that compendium would have become renowned as an authoritative text on Sangathan Shastra (Treatise on Building Organisations). For instance, he would emphasise the mantra: Pratyek karyakarta ke liye kaam aur pratyek kaam ke liye karyakarta. (For every task, there must be a responsible party worker, and for every party worker, there must be identifiable work). Secondly, he taught us that without a sense of purpose, a sense of larger mission, a party worker becomes a cog in the wheel (uthak baithak ka hissa), performing routine tasks robotically. He was very effective in motivating BJP workers to do something meaningful for the country and for society. He paid a great deal of attention to creating good and honest workers. Most importantly, he paid minute attention to building systems."
"“Omar Abdullah's statement is extremely objectionable and anti-India; any amount of criticism is not enough... He is speaking in favour of such terrorists.” .. The Congress is with such anti-India statements. There is no difference between Abdullah and Congress... The people of India will not forgive this."
"Law is taking its own course. President rejected his mercy petition on 3 February and after that we started the proceedings of his execution as per jail manuals."
""The issue of Waqf land has been affecting people across communities. I feel pained to see eminent Christian leaders having to express their anguish in this manner. I assure them that their grievances will be addressed," Rijiju wrote on September 28. He also expressed confidence in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)."
"Referring to past incidents, he brought up the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) controversy, saying, “When CAA was introduced, some people spread rumours that it would strip Muslims of their citizenship. Today, the law is in place, and their claims have been proven false. But did they ever apologise?”"