People From Mumbai

"To say that he is one of the most controversial figures in contemporary Indian politics is an understatement... Shah is a past master at setting up and running election campaigns. Shah has been L K Advani’s polling agent in many elections. In a businesslike manner he uses party funds to set the election machinery... In one sentence it can be said that Shah will ask his party to go for covert Hindutva and adopt the development plank overtly. Modi’s name and photograph is enough for Shah to tell UP voters what his mentor’s politics is all about."

"Amitbhai provided us more than double (Lok Sabha) seats in Uttar Pradesh. BJP won more seats in UP than what Congress secured in all states put together. This is the best example of what a Gujarati can do if given responsibility."

"But the only encounter killings Congress has taken to heart are those that led to killing of known terrorists like Sohrabuddin, Javed Sheikh, Zeeshan Johar, and Amjad Ali Rana who have been openly owned up by Pakistani terror outfits. The Congress is alleged to have provided the best of lawyers to the families of these terrorists, while at the same time gunning for Amit Shah, under whose tenure as home minister these encounter killings took place. The real target is Modi, not Shah because the Congress has built a case that these allegedly false encounter killings were ordered by Modi. This despite the fact that the killings took place with the active involvement of the Intelligence Bureau of the Government of India which provided inputs to the Gujarat police that these people were on a terror mission to the state. Never before in India, has a home minister been jailed for encounter killings of criminals or terrorists by the police, as was Amit Shah. This is not at all to justify false encounter killings even of dreaded terrorists. When a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court to demand that all the cases of encounter killings that had reached the National Human Rights Commission be reopened and examined like the six allegedly false encounter killings of Gujarat in Modi’s regime, the UPA government filed an affidavit in court blocking the move on the ground that it would “compromise national security!” Recently, when the CBI, the famed ‘caged parrot’ of UPA government demonstrated small signs of independence and gave a clean chit to Amit Shah saying the Congress would have been happy had Amit Shah been implicated, Congress politicians charged the CBI of having been bought over by Modi!"

"Therefore, an environment against caste-based politics was created and the BJP wave along with Mr[.] Modi’s candidature as the prime ministerial candidate helped in creating a favourable environment for the BJP and making our foundation strong. It helped in creating votes for us and our political strategy helped in converting these votes into parliamentary seats."

"While the door-to-door campaign was already on, we made sure that each and every person and every household in each and every village, town and city gets our party and Narendra Modi’s message. Around 33 per cent of Uttar Pradesh is a dark area, in the sense that there are no newspapers, no TV, nothing."

"In Uttar Pradesh, caste politics is deep-rooted. But there is a negative side of it. When something is deep-rooted, it takes time for people to realise its ill effects, that’s natural. When a political culture takes shape, it takes time for it to fail."

"But I think [the] Uttar Pradesh electorate was fed up of this caste-based politics as the state has hardly seen any development, [the] [law-and-order] situation has deteriorated, investment, employment, women’s safety, rural and agriculture development, these areas hardly saw any development."

"I have never seen economic deprivation. I was born in a rich family and brought up that way too. I have not seen a cash crunch. But, I firmly believe that whether you come from a traditionally rich family or poor family, what matters more for one's progress in politics is your sentiments for the people, your talent and a constant belief in your convictions."

"I am in politics since the last 35 years, not once have I faced a charge of corruption. In last 35 years I have never ever changed my political track. I have always been what my party stands for. In last 35 years of public life wherever I have gone, whether it is the Ahmedabad district bank, the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation or in the government, I have tried to bring in reforms, new policies and able administration. I have a record of governance behind me."

"My image is the creation of the media."

"I became a member of the RSS in my childhood days then joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (The BJP’s student’s wing). I am a science graduate. Till I was elected as an MLA I was a businessman. After getting into politics, I gave away my business and factory to my partners. After becoming an MLA, I am not doing any business. I have my savings and investments. I have inherited some investments in stocks and shares and I earn my living out of it."

"I had prayed before Lord Ram that I wish with the help of every section of the society the temple will be constructed as soon as possible."

"I remember one morning during breakfast, I saw Salman Khurshid crying on the TV. He was coming out of Sonia Gandhi's residence... He said that Sonia Gandhi was sobbing at the Batla House incident. She should have cried for Shaheed Mohan Sharma instead of the terrorists of the Batla house..."

"All the Hindu population that decreased in Pakistan and Bangladesh, many of them took refuge in India. And the Muslim population that increased in India wasn’t due to fertility; it was because many Muslims infiltrated into the country.. In 1951, Hindus were 84% and Muslims 9.8% of the population. By 1971, Hindus were 82% and Muslims 11%. In 1991, Hindus were 81% and Muslims 12.21%. And by 2011, Hindus made up 79% while Muslims rose to 14.2%...‘Congress failed minorities under Nehru-Liaquat Pact’... “Dividing this country in the name of religion was a huge mistake; by doing so, they cut off the arms of Bharat Mata and made the British conspiracy successful,”... “Pandit Nehru had promised citizenship to refugees but later went back on that promise,” ...“When Modi Ji’s government came to power with a full majority, we fulfilled that promise through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA),” he added. ‘Refugees and infiltrators are not the same’ ...“A refugee comes to India to save their religion, but an infiltrator crosses the border illegally for economic or other reasons. They do not come here due to religious persecution.” ... “CAA is not about taking away anyone’s citizenship. There is no provision in the Act to deprive Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, or anyone of their citizenship. Its sole purpose is to give citizenship to refugees,... When the basis of voting is not the nation’s interest, democracy can never succeed."

"The Congress made an attempt to defame the entire country in the name of Hindu terror. This is a country where we feed even ants that bite us. They created a false case and booked sadhus and sadhvis. I want to ask: everyone has been acquitted in the Samjhauta case. The court has said that there is no evidence. Shouldn’t The Indian Express ask for accountability of the real accused being left out? Look how they compromised national security for their vote bank politics. CBI (agencies) had arrested them. Where are they? Isn’t it an issue for the country? Those who were caught, even American agencies had said that it was a Lashkar act, Indian agencies certified it. But to certify Hindu terror, saffron terror, you created false cases. Case after case collapsed in courts. But the media is sitting silent. Seculars are silent. The Indian Express is also silent. Why are you silent? At least you should ask about those accused. I think this is a big issue that needs to be in public debate."

"I have made five to six visits to Karnataka and after meeting people I have been able to understand the feeling of Karnataka. The feeling of the people of Karnataka is that he (Siddaramaiah) is not an AHINDA leader, but an Ahindu (anti-Hindu) leader."

"Congress and its allies have shamed democracy once again. Blatant misuse of state power against Republic TV & Arnab Goswami is an attack on individual freedom and the 4th pillar of democracy. It reminds us of the Emergency. This attack on free press must be and WILL BE OPPOSED."

"This government will not allow Waqf to be used as a political tool anymore."

"We overcame a dark chapter like the Emergency because our nation never bows to dictatorship.... Forgetting an event like the Emergency, which shook our democracy, would be harmful to the nation....Today, India is the world’s largest democracy because we overcame that dark chapter. Our nation never bows to dictatorship. The world witnessed the birth of democracy on this soil—India is the mother of democracy... It is hard to capture the Emergency in a single sentence, but I define it as the conspiracy to turn a vibrant multi-party democracy into a dictatorship... During the Emergency, such drastic changes were made that it was called a ‘mini-Constitution.’ From altering the Preamble to undermining the Basic Structure, everything was changed. The judiciary became submissive, and democratic rights were suspended. The nation must never forget this. That is why PM Modi declared June 25 as Samvidhan Hatya Divas—to ensure the country remembers the price of dictatorship....I believe Samvidhan Hatya Divas should be observed collectively and consciously so that the youth never forget how the Constitution was once silenced.... They said the Emergency was to protect the nation, but the truth is, it was to protect their own power."

"Since his childhood he was of a gentle and peaceful nature."

"The person who offers himself to God, God looks after that person Himself. Our scriptures say that if after the service to God, there is any great service to humanity, it is the service to one's motherland. The person who dedicated himself to the nation, God looks after that person Himself. It is my belief that Rajiv should dedicate himself to the service of the nation."

"Since I have been here from my country I have not played a nicer day than this."

"On 30 April 1981, the National Committee of the Indian National Youth Congress unanimously passed a resolution requesting Rajiv Gandhi to contest the elections."

"Rajeev’s name was kept after his maternal grandmother‘s [Kamla Nehru] name. Although the meaning of ‘Kamala’ is ‘Goddess Lakshmi’ and the meaning of Rajiv is ‘lotus’, at that time it was thought that the child’s name was kept after his grandmother’s name."

"Rajeev used to play with Gandhiji in the same way in which his mother, Indira used to play with Gandhiji in Sabaramati ashram when she was four years old. One day, Rajeev plucked some flowers and kept them at Gandhiji’s feet. Gandhiji laughed and said – Rajeev! Don’t you know that flowers are not kept at the feet of a person who is alive?"

"The Indian and Western elite did not regard any of Nehru’s successors as ‘thinking’ leaders. Indira Gandhi tried hard to win over India’s intellectual elite, but the Emergency broke a nascent link. When men like P.N. Haksar and P.N. Dhar were hounded out of her inner circle, India’s intellectuals deserted her. Rajiv Gandhi was never taken seriously by this elite. Narasimha Rao may have been a scholar in his own right, but he was an ‘outsider’ to India’s metropolitan elite. In Andhra Pradesh, among the Telugu-speaking elite he was known as an ashtavadhani, a literary master. But Delhi’s elite tended to conflate his intellectual achievements with the fact that he was fluent in many languages. Vajpayee too was a highly regarded poet. Indeed, Rao and Vajpayee enjoyed the company of intellectuals and could count many professors among their friends. But in the snobbish world of the metropolitan elite, an Oxbridge type like Dr Singh was regarded as a class apart from these home-grown politician-intellectuals."

"Their strategy was simple. Moral domination. Nehru was a thinker. But Rajiv, Sonia, and Rahul are no intellectuals. They took a different route. They redefined morality. Secularism included. Anti-Congress was new immoral. Pro-Hindu became anti-Muslim. India was morally polarized. Morality is subjective. No one can say with guarantee what is pure morality. Masses were forced to choose between moral standards (Secularism, unity in diversity, inclusive etc.) and quality of life (development). People who wanted quality of life were made to feel guilty. Hindus who wanted to celebrate their religious freedom were made to feel guilty. Muslims who wanted to be part of mainstream India were made to feel guilty. They filled India’s psyche with fear, hate and guilt. They hated all indigenous, grassroots thinkers. They hated Sardar Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, P.V. Narsimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and now Modi. They are the land grabbers of Sainik Farms and Adarsh Societies of India. They run NGOs. They run media. They coin useless and irrelevant jargon to confuse the masses. They have designations but no real jobs. They are irrelevant NRIs who want us to see a reality which doesn’t exist. They want a plebiscite in Kashmir. They defend stone-pelters. They want Maoists to participate in mainstream politics. They want Tejpal to be freed. Yaqub to be pardoned. But they want Modi to be hanged. They are the hijackers of national morality. Secularism included. They are the robbers of Indian treasury. They are the brokers of power. They are the pimps of secularism. They are the Intellectual Mafia."

"If farmers become weak the country loses self-reliance but if they are strong, freedom also becomes strong. If we do not maintain our progress in agriculture, poverty cannot be eliminated from India. But our biggest poverty alleviation programme is to improve the of our farmers. The thrust of our poverty alleviation programmes is on the uplift of the farmers."

"The fight against communal forces must be fought unitedly. We are the heirs to Gandhiji’s heritage of communal harmony; to Panditji’s scientific outlook; and to Indiraji’s struggle against the forces of destabilization – terrorists, separatists, and communalists. We cannot fail them. Communalism must not be used as a political tool. If I may read a sentence from the secret Will of Babar to his son, Humayun: It is incumbent on thee to wipe all religious prejudices of the tablet of thy heart."

"It is compartmentalization of India into rigidly separated rural and urban settlements that has been the worst legacy of the colonial system of local-self government."

"Thinking of this University [Ambedkar University] today, we are reminded of Mahatma Gandhi because if there was anyone who fought for the weak in India, the first one to raise his voice for Scheduled Castes, that was Gandhiji. There were social workers before him but not any people who raised this matter in the political arena as he did."

"India missed the Industrial Revolution; it cannot afford to miss the Computer Revolution."

"Development is not about factories, dams and roads. Development is about people."

"One such secularist, a modern man ready to deal with the matter pragmatically, was Rajiv Gandhi. He allowed the Hindus to prepare for the construction of a new temple with the ceremonial laying of a foundation stone (shilanyas) on November 9, 1989. He pressured the Chandra Shekhar government, which was dependent on Congress support, into organizing the scholars’ debate about the historical evidence, in the full knowledge that the temple party would win such a debate hands down. The thrust of his Ayodhya policy was to buy off Muslim acquiescence with some of the usual currency of the Congress culture: maybe nominating a few more Mians as ministers, banning a few Islam-unfriendly books (hence the Satanic Verses affair), raising the Hajj subsidy, providing cheap loans to the Shahi Imam’s constituency, donating government land for some Islamic purpose, things like that. Meanwhile, Hindus would get their temple. Muslims would have scolded their leaders for selling out, Hindus would have lambasted theirs for cheapening a noble cause with such horse-trading, but in the end, everybody would have accepted it....Whatever may be said about and against Rajiv Gandhi, he had the calibre and the cool secular distance from religious passions to see such a policy through....But in 1991 India’s top pilot was killed, and worse, in his years as India’s most important politician, dark forces had started fighting his reasonable and pragmatic policy tooth and nail."

"Our plan cannot be hard and dogmatic. They must change with the times and move with the development of our country. Every year brings new compulsions, new circumstances, and with each Plan these must be taken into consideration."

"The world is changing much too fast for us to have a moribund system which is not flexible, which cannot evolve and develop with changes in our society, in our country, as they come about in the world."

"A responsive administration is tested most at the point of interface between the administration and the people."

"Political Independence was only the first step. Sending the British home was only the first step. The struggle still continues. In the last 40-42 years since the advent of Independence, there has been a lot of development, a lot of progress but much more still needs to be done."

"A right value system must be built into our education system. We must be very clear that religion and politics must be separated and there must be a very clear definition of the difference between spirituality of the religion and its rituals and dogmas. We must be clear that secularism as we understand it is not only anti-religion or non-religion; it is only the separation of government from religion. Religion has a great role to play in the development process of our nation and we should do nothing to undermine it."

"Our party is for the building of the temple to Lord Ram, and we should, if possible, work towards an amicable settlement which, while upholding the principles of secularism, enables the construction of the temple to start, with the approval and support of all concerned. ... The key issue appears to be whether or not there was a temple erected to Lord Ram at the site where the Babri Masjid stands today. This question of historical fact would appear to hold the key to a resolution of the problem to the satisfaction of all reasonable, secular-minded persons of all communities."

"Nothing is more important than the unity and integrity of our nation. India is indivisible. Secularism is the bedrock of our nationhood. It implies more than tolerance. It involves an active effort for harmony. No religion preaches hatred and intolerance. Vested interests, both external and internal, are inciting and exploiting communal passions and violence to divide India."

"We must see that regional imbalances in the growth of various parties of the country are removed and all the states progress evenly. We shall ensure that all citizens of the country get full opportunity to contribute their might towards India’s progress."

"For nation-building, the first requisite is peace— peace with our neighbours and peace in the world. Our security environment has been vitiated."

"Thereby, we have weakened ourselves and fallen prey to the ills that the loss of invigorating mass contact brings. Millions of ordinary Congress workers throughout the country are full of enthusiasm for the Congress policies and programmes. But they are handicapped, for on their backs ride the brokers of power and influence, who dispense patronage to convert a mass movement into a feudal oligarchy.. They are self-perpetuating cliques who thrive by involving the slogans of caste and religion and by enmeshing the living body of the congress in their net of avarice."

"When I was inspecting the guard of honor and as I walked past one person, I saw through the corner of my eye some movement. Then I saw a man reverse his rifle at me. I ducked down a little bit in a reflex action. By my ducking, he missed my head and the brunt of the blow came on my shoulder below the left ear."

"Better a brain drain than a brain in the drain."

"The mass of enthusiasm and euphoria of early 1985 is on a gradual wane....the frequent reshuffle of the Union Cabinet, Chief Ministers, part executives and bureaucratic slots has generated a sense of instability and the people perceive it as a situation of flux and continuing adhocism in the decision making process at the highest level. As the replacements have not often proved better, the very wisdom of the change-mechanism is now being increasingly questioned."

"Rajiv was implicated in a triple scandal – Fairfax, Bofors, and the West German Submarine payoff by ambitious V.P.Singh and Arun Nehru, They suddenly turned hostile and established a Jan Morcha to unmask Rajiv Gandhi's Government that according to them was saddled with non-performance, corruption and inner dissension. Few world leaders could have experienced a transition from a hero to villain in such precipitate fashion. Rajiv, as Russi Karanjia, Editor of Blitz, described was a gentlemen thrown among thieves."

"On New Year’s eve, Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister by President Zail Singh – for the second time in two months – on 31 October 31 1984 fateful day of shock and grief he took over as Prime minister in a depressing atmosphere... But now the prize was his –in his own right earned in a national contest."

"He was campaigning for the Congress Party on the second day of voting in the world's largest democratic election when a powerful bomb, hidden in a basket of flowers, exploded killing him instantly. It later emerged that a female Tamil Tiger (LTTE) suicide bomber had assassinated Rajiv Gandhi. In 1987 Mr Gandhi, then Prime Minister, had sent Indian Peace Keeping Forces to Sri Lanka in a disastrous attempt to impose peace in the country. The move proved unpopular both at home and abroad and his troops pulled out in 1990."