'In the BJP I realised they are a different people with different mindset. They had a different ideology which was more rigid, and somewhere I was not comfortable.'
'This is the biggest crisis Kejriwal is facing in his life.' 'If he is able to come out of this, then he will have a great future.'
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
'There was a statement by a minister that 30,000 Kashmiri Pandits have come back to the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370, it is all b.......t and a white lie.' 'Nobody has come back.'
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
'This is total fraud. You are showing me the slip of my vote but not counting it so this is fraud.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
'Imran Khan's rule was dismal. Despite this, he has become a cult figure.' 'He sold the dream of a Naya Pakistan to the people of Pakistan, especially the youth, and branded all other politicians as corrupt.' 'Hence, his popularity.'
'An entire operation was running systematically prior to the revoking of Article 370.'
'These statements which you are telling me were never uttered from mosques on that day.' 'And if this had happened, I would have got the report as the chief secretary of J&K.'
'This bitterness will be more in Jammu area than in Kashmir.'
'While other parties generally need support directly from their central leadership to get influencers or celebrities to endorse their party, the work of identifying and contacting such influencers has been decentralised to state and district level IT cells to get more engagement in the BJP.'
'If a poor voter sees Modi's picture on ration bags, it is natural he will vote for Modi and the BJP.'
'One needs to understand what kind of means the BJP use to bring other party leaders in their party.' 'They are unscrupulous politicians and money plays an important role.'
'I just invited PM Modi for Kalki Dham for shilanyas, so what crime did I commit as a Congressman?'
'They hate him so much that if PM Modi says the Sun rises in the east the Congress will say the Sun rises in the west.'
'What happens in the real estate market is that once the prices go up it goes on to stay at that level.' 'It might not increase and at the same time the prices will not come down too.'
'Who has given how much money to which party, the people of India must know this fact.'
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
'Congress leaders who are making strategy for the Congress to win elections have not even won a class monitor elections.' 'When you have not contested school monitor elections, what will you know about the ground reality?'
'Sheikh Abdullah ruled the state with secular values. Post 1953, when he was sacked, corruption took over governance.'
'If you post on social media on an issue like power cuts in Tral, the police will come to your home and tell you to remove your social media post.' 'If you don't, then the local police threaten you that they will book you under PSA.' 'This is happening all the time in Kashmir.'
'It was my first day in office, so you cannot blame me for the missing photos.' 'I had to join the office and sit on the chair at a particular mahurat time.'
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
'The situation is so bad that it is not possible for me to explain in words how bad the conditions are for the common man of Manipur.'
'The BJP has started a war-like situation against farmers and the Jat community.'
Dominic Xavier wonders whether Rhea is being made a scapegoat in a case which has clear political overtones.
'This government has done positive things, we got the Transgender Persons (protection of rights) Act under this government. Dheere-dheere hota hai.'
'They are happy for the Hindu community as Ram Lalla is consecrated in Ayodhya.'
'I'm talking about that predator in your house, and how one should protect one's children from him.'
'Gautam Adani will not be able to step inside Dharavi.' 'We will ensure Adani will not get what he wants.' 'Adani has no reason to do politics with people of Dharavi but he is still doing it.'
'They were as late as June 2023 and they did not follow it up with concrete measures immediately in terms of a secretariat or common minimum programme, working group or seat sharing etc.' 'They continued to have periodic meetings after a gap of weeks where they had tasty dinner and coffee, but beside that they did nothing else.'
'This decision to go with the BJP is Kumaraswamy's individual decision and not a party decision.'
'I was never why I was denied a ticket to contest the assembly elections.'
'He only promotes those leaders who will never show any resistance to him in future.'
'This verdict means that if there is presidential rule anywhere in any state of India, that state can be dismembered and from a state can be downgraded to a Union territory.'
'And once someone is dead in a family the ritual is to shave your head.'
'Rahul Gandhi never gets firsthand information. He does not know what is good or bad going on in the party.'
'They know that if they do not tie up with the Congress, then the minorities will move to the Congress.'
