'The message they want to send to the country is that they can do anything by hook or crook'
Why 'anti-Romeo'? Why not 'anti-loafer' squad? Or 'anti-Majnu' squad?' wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'These new laws give complete (impunity) to the police.' 'Whatever little accountability the police had, all that is gone now.' 'There is no accountability mechanism against the police for abusing or misusing in the new laws.'
As the Aam Aadmi Party heads for a resounding win in Delhi, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf lists the reasons behind Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's triumph.
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
'Gehlot is right now doing things, which are not appreciated by the Gandhis.' 'The Gandhis have realised that their writ does not run in Rajasthan, therefore they have deflected the issue to Kharge.'
With Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stoking a controversy by saying that the Hindu population was falling while minorities are flourishing, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf studied the 2001 and 2011 census data to track the demographic changes in the northeast.
'The upper caste elite's belief that they are casteless is a belief that is available only to the upper castes. Because all the lower castes are reminded by society every day what their caste is.'
Less than half the ministers in Team Yogi are not long-term BJP members. Many old-timers have been dropped.
'Use of the word 'genocide' for Kashmiri Pandits is absolutely wrong.'
'The Naxals started firing indiscriminately.' 'The whole jungle echoed with the sound of bullets.' 'The only thing I heard from that side was 'Chhodna kisi ko nahi (don't let anyone escape)'.'
'Priyanka did draw huge crowds and eventually all of those ended up voting for the Samajwadi Party.' 'The voters today are smart enough to vote for the party which they know is going to win or they know this party will come second, but no way will they vote for a party which will come third or fourth.'
'You need a leader whom India can identify with and I cannot think of any other leader except Sachin Pilot in the Congress party.'
'These atheist people wanted to finish the progress of Sabrimala temple devotees and now they are using this (the Supreme Court verdict) as a weapon to destroy the believers.'
'The mindset of people needs to change.' 'We still believe in accepting cash when we can do business with digital money as well.'
'If Mayawati had performed better, then the BJP would have had a much tougher time to win UP.' 'The present gap in number of seats between the BJP and SP would have got reduced.'
Glimpses of the CWC meeting, which was meant to formulate a plan to revive the party from the death throes of electoral irrelevance, but...
'If you want proof, visit any bank in Mumbai and you will find the poor standing in bank queues.' 'They are queuing up from midnight outside the banks.'
'The right wing has worked for 70-80 years at the grass roots before it burst onto social media.' 'Social media is an extension of its formidable work in society.' 'If you think you can fight them on social media, forget it. You can't.'
Hours after the government banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, Indians are facing an acute shortage of change.
'Had the Congress made Sidhu its CM face, they would have won 80 out of 117 seats.'
'One cannot avoid speculating whether there was something else at play that led to the uncovering of this saga.'
'Military operations demand the highest degree of secrecy.' 'Those who are demanding transparency in military operations must understand what military operations are all about.'
'Putin has set aside all the rules and now he is deciding the rules.'
'...it gets a survey report that they are going to lose elections.' 'The fear of losing elections will make them immediately conduct a caste census.'
'They fear their caste privilege will be exposed if there is an OBC caste census.'
'You will really wish oh! Had I stayed in Dharavi I would have got a nice house. I can assure you that. We will make dreams come true.'
'In politics, not everything is spoken and there are a lot of messaging done very discreetly.'
'We cannot afford to be complacent about our food security needs.'
'I wrote to the PMO to know who has written the slogan. but did not get an answer.'
When Syed Firdaus Ashraf received messages last weekend, asking him to boycott Chinese goods, he laughed.
'I support Udta Punjab because we must show the reality of Punjab.' 'If there is a problem, it should be highlighted, not hidden.' 'The truth must come out and people must know the harmful effects of drugs.'
Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf and Hitesh Harisinghani speak to millennials to find out if the ease of ride-sharing apps like Ola and Uber was a reason for them not buying a car.
'Government must take into consideration the human cost of the NRC exercise'
'The BJP will be wiped out from all over India.'
'I have learnt from Guru Nanakji that we all must live in harmony and brotherhood and have concern for others.'
'The Congress today has lost contact with the Hindu clergy.' 'They go to to Hindu clergy only during the time of elections.'
If you thought Vajubhai Vala's invitation to BSY was a one-off, think again :))
