Amit Shah

"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."

"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."

"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 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 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."

"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."

"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."

"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!"