'This government has done positive things, we got the Transgender Persons (protection of rights) Act under this government. Dheere-dheere hota hai.'
'Nowhere does the CAA state that Muslims will be deprived of their Indian citizenship.'
'In low-profile cases, if there's a small quantity (of drugs involved), you get bail on the first day.' 'In high-profile cases, it depends on the judge.'
'Akhilesh Yadav made voters think why is the BJP asking for 400 paar.' 'They understood his words and believed the BJP wanted 400 paar only to demolish the Constitution and end reservations.'
'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.
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.
'Jockeying for that position has possibly started at this time.'
'I want to ask the Congress only one question: What is more important than election management in politics?'
'Not disclosing information to the public indicates that there is something wrong with Project Cheetah.'
Raju Hirani, Ranbir and Deepika react to the Dutt's release!
Thalaivii proves Kangana is the Queen of Bollywood, asserts Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'And once someone is dead in a family the ritual is to shave your head.'
'Modi will do himself a favour if he starts studying about Mahatma Gandhi.' 'I feel pity that we have a PM who has no idea of our own history.'
'The whole Kashmiri population is seemed to be a suspect community. This status is not good.'
'Shivakumar is an andhbhakt of Congress ideology and principles.'
'All restaurants and pubs must treat the issue seriously and appoint safety officers. This chalta hai attitude cannot work.'
'Under this amendment, in any dispute over Waqf properties, the Waqf Board cannot approach the court.' 'This is very surprising because the government instead of protecting Waqf properties they are snatching it away and not allowing them to go to court.' 'The third biggest landowner in India is the Waqf Board after the Indian Army and Indian Railways.'
'This was a decision taken and executed by Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Both were convinced that the assassination would not be linked to them.'
'I approached the ministries for a response, but they did not respond on time, so I had to approach the court.'
'Nobody wants to run an exploitation factory.'
'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.'
'There is a huge wait in Kashmir for compassion from the prime minister of India.'
'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.'
'The wave of terrorism is over in Kashmir. Local people do not support it.'
'The Congress didn't win elections only on soft Hindutva.'
'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.'
In his second term in office, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has retained 34 portfolios.
'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.
'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.'
'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.'
'This decision to go with the BJP is Kumaraswamy's individual decision and not a party decision.'
'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.
'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.
'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.'
'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.'
'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.
'There is some deep rot that has set in the Congress party. This requires an organisational surgery.'
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
