'There is a huge wait in Kashmir for compassion from the prime minister of India.'
'If Kejriwal is adamant on running his government from jail, then his government could be dismissed and Article 356 imposed on Delhi, in other words President's rule in Delhi.'
'Shivakumar is an andhbhakt of Congress ideology and principles.'
'Jockeying for that position has possibly started at this time.'
'Nobody wants to run an exploitation factory.'
Hamid Nihal Ansari, a software engineer from Mumbai, returned to India in December 2018 after spending six years in a Pakistani jail for illegally entering the neighbouring country from Afghanistan, reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online. He was arrested in 2012 and lodged at Peshawar jail after Pakistan had slapped espionage charges against him. The decision to release him was on account of relentless pressure from New Delhi and Sushma Swaraj, who was the external affairs minister and was personally monitoring the case. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, Ansari recalls the time he spent with her and says that if it wasn't for her efforts, he would still be rotting away in a Pakistani cell.
Thalaivii proves Kangana is the Queen of Bollywood, asserts Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'I am not the Manas Deka who attacked Kanhaiya,' says the BJP activist who shares the same name with the man who allegedly tried to 'strangle' the JNUSU leader.
'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.'
Raju Hirani, Ranbir and Deepika react to the Dutt's release!
'There is some deep rot that has set in the Congress party. This requires an organisational surgery.'
'I approached the ministries for a response, but they did not respond on time, so I had to approach the court.'
'All restaurants and pubs must treat the issue seriously and appoint safety officers. This chalta hai attitude cannot work.'
'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.'
'Political narrative in our country today is tilted towards Hindutva orientation and so Kejriwal becomes very dangerous to the BJP.' 'For them, he is a leader to watch.'
'If a Brahmin child by birth is poor then he must get reservation benefits rather than an OBC child who is rich and born in a rich family.'
'This decision to go with the BJP is Kumaraswamy's individual decision and not a party decision.'
'Congress leaders are ready to lose the election and not form the government, but are never ready to share seats with others.'
'...or go to jail.' 'The government is getting them silenced.'
'I have never seen a common man tapping a chief minister on the shoulder and giving him his petition, like needing money for a child admitted in a hospital.'
'In the case of a road accident, prevention is the only answer.' 'There's no cure to death or disability when the accident happens, and when it's due to reckless or negligent driving, it's worse because it's avoidable.'
'I love to meet people.' 'I love that personal connect when they express their genuine, heartfelt feelings.'
In his second term in office, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has retained 34 portfolios.
'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.'
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
'The Congress didn't win elections only on soft Hindutva.'
'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.'
'The Indian Army and paramilitary have to land more in Assam as the situation is very bad, especially in upper Assam,' says BJP MLA Binod Hazarika whose home was burnt down by mobs.
'Hindutva will not win any elections. Hindutva as a political plank never works.'
'All of these guys who are opposing the Supreme Court judgment are from dominant scheduled caste communities and none of them come from the scavenging community.' 'Not a single scavenging leader will oppose this Supreme Court judgment.'
'Akhilesh did politics like Rabi and Kharif crop which come once a year. Politics is not seasonal, you have to harvest your field all through the year and only then you get a good crop' Political analyst lists 12 reasons why Akhilesh Yadav lost the UP elections.
'I went to jail and met my father to convince him to join politics and believe in the Constitution.'
'The people of Jharkhand know that Modi is not going to become chief minister, so why should they vote for the BJP?'
'With the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Hindus from Pakistan can come to India. They have got a way,' says Gurumukh Jagwani who came to India on his honeymoon, loved the country so much that he stayed back and got Indian citizenship.
'Heavy rains are not the primary reason for landslides in Wayanad.' 'There are all sorts of (human) intervention going on in that area.'
'I was never why I was denied a ticket to contest the assembly elections.'
'We had to respect the sentiments of the people of Jammu as our party was elected from Jammu.'
As Narendra Modi and his ministers vigorously campaign for a shift to a cashless society, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf reports on what is really happening on the ground.
'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.'
'All is well in Visakhapatnam for now.'
