'This government will be toppled in 2024.'
She was kidnapped by child traffickers when she was 14. Today, this 17 year old wants to become a lawyer so that she can help the survivors of such henious acts.
I did not take up research for any award.' 'What is more important is the medicine that I have developed.' 'This helps the patient recover and the family is happy that their relative has survived and they go back to their lives.
'You are with each other 24x7, so how can you ignore someone crying next to you?' 'How can you not share a piece of chicken with someone who is sitting next to you and watching you eat it?' 'Of course, you will share.' 'And you become friends with the kind of people you never thought you'd even know.'
This is not the first time IFS officer Devyani Khobragade has found herself under the scanner, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'I asked him why were he and other writers being targeted.' 'I saw his point of view, that he and others being writers, their work was popular and well-appreciated by people, especially the youth.' 'This made the State fear them.'
'Once you are in their system, they finish you with the never-ending processes.' 'Once your family member is arrested, you are just running between lawyers, courts and the jail.' 'The process to prove that you are innocent drains you to such an extent that you are finished.'
Girgaum, once a thriving neighbourhood of Maharashtrians in south Mumbai, who loved their seafood and meat, has slowly been taken over by vegetarians, forcing eateries serving non-vegetarian food to shut down, says Neeta Kolhatkar
Do you know firemen who risk their lives every day earn salaries equivalent to clerks?Last week's tragedy where three Mumbai firemen died fighting a fire must wake up the city's rulers, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'Our Left is squeamish about democracy. They are so mechanical they have only dogma.'
'For 20 years, successive governments have failed to provide housing for the poor. Here, they were to get 400 sq ft flats for Rs 54,000,' says Prakash Ambedkar who was arrested by the Maharashtra government for getting thousands of people to submit forms for these apartments.
'I was put in an anda cell. No window, light or air. Only grills.' 'During the monsoon, water would seep. There were rats running around all the time.' 'We were forced to sleep under bright lights all the time. Those bright lights are never switched off.'
'It's little things like these -- sharing medicines, consoling each other after a mulaqat (meeting) or a tearful phone conversation with your loved ones or when we would return, dejected, when our bails were rejected -- that made our time in jail bearable.'
'Their conduct is as if they have come to arrest some dacoit.' 'They behave with everyone in this manner, whether it's Manish Sisodia, Anil Deshmukh or anybody else.' 'It is as if they are ambassadors of god and we are satans.' 'This is solely due to the sections in some laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.' 'This is a cruel law. In fact, the death penalty is better.'
'Your faith in the system, and in the fact that you are a citizen of this country and have rights, starts eroding.'
'After he had exposed the Narcotics Bureau's wrongdoings, he threatened to expose the Enforcement Directorate as well.' 'So they are trying to rake up an old legal deal, distorting information and using the PMLA which did not even exist at that time.'
'Devendra Fadnavis' brokering the deal between the MNS and the makers of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil raises questions about the chief minister's effectiveness,' says Neeta Kolhatkar.
The promptness with which the railways renames stations, that is missing when it comes to providing commuters with basic facilities, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'If the authorities go about completing this project the way they have proposed, this is going to cause a HUGE environmental impact not only on Malabar Hill but also on the rest of the city.'
Neeta Kolhatkar remembers the housewife who took on mighty Maharashtra politicians over her husband's murder.
'I was wondering whether I would ever come out alive.'
'One after the other, they have committed four murders (Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh)...' 'They feel they will not have to face the consequences of their actions as it is a favourable time for them.'
'How will they give me permission to die when there are many others in conditions worse than mine?'
'Nobody will be saved if you don't stop this ideological and political-strategic bulldozer.'
'I was told to go to the next room and strip -- that's when it really hits you for the first time... that you are a criminal and you are being treated like one.' 'It comes as a shock when, instead of your name, you hear, "Yeh naya Maowadi aaya hai (A new Maoist has arrived)".'
'It is worrisome that religion, politics and strong regional biases have pervaded our police force.'
'Members of the legal fraternity say Yakub Memon cooperated more than what investigators could have ever hoped for, providing information about Dawood Ibrahim and Yakub's elder brother 'Tiger' Memon, the masterminds behind the planning and execution of the Mumbai serial blasts.'
We allowed her to rot daily. We simply did not care. Soon she will be forgotten and the stories of the nurses who cared for her will become Mumbai's urban legend, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
Raj Thackeray and the MNS protested against tolls in Maharashtra to demonstrate that it still has political clout, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'Some false information was carried to Delhi, these negative bits seemed to have played heavily.' Union Textiles Minister KS on why he opposes the Telangana decision.
Neeta Kolhatkar reports on the mysterious murder of Maharashtra's leading rationalist, Dr Narendra Dabholkar, in Pune on Tuesday.
'The IB and authorities knew I had given away all my property and had nothing in my name.' 'Even among police officers, they all respected me for this sacrifice which is rare these days.' 'They respected me from this point of view -- in this day and age few individuals live by ideals for the poor.'
'We are clear the party won't protect those who are seen as culprits,' says Maharashtra Congress Chief Manekrao Thakre.
'Hazare has only himself to blame for getting isolated. He was blind to the fact that Kejriwal and Bedi were capitalising on his success.'
'In a democracy, there is nothing like 'I am right'.' 'You can be wrong, so somebody has to point that out.'
'My father lived on minimum money and helped others.' 'What was he to gain personally? No name, fame like a politician who work for votes.' 'His sort believe all humans deserve better lives.'
'"It is not corruption, but destruction that we fear. We fear for our lives and the BJP has not been able to convince us otherwise," Muslims and Dalits tell me.' Does a high turnout indicate anti-incumbency or does it indicate minority consolidation against a particular leader or party? Neeta Kolhatkar explains the situation in Maharashtra.
These elections will be remembered for the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal, feels Neeta Kolhatkar.
Nitin Gadkari's move to get Raj Thackeray's support in the Lok Sabha elections has boomeranged. Uddhav Thackeray is angry and Gadkari and Raj Thackeray risk losing credibility. The move may help the Congress-NCP alliance, feels Neeta Kolhatkar.
The Prithviraj Chavan government wants to retain its strongholds and ensure there is negligible anti-incumbency. That many of its decisions can run into legal problems is not an immediate worry, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
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