'It makes law-making on the part of the state governments much more difficult and throws up bottlenecks as governors are not acting on bills.'
'The implementation of the judgment has largely been left to the discretion of the very executive authorities it sought to restrain.'
'Punjab floods are a calamity.' 'Right from Firozpur to Amritsar nearly 1 lakh homes have been completely damaged due to floods.'concern about the state of affairs.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
A seasoned politician and two-term Member of Parliament, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, who has served as a Union minister and senior Congress leader, resigned from the Congress party, marking the end of his decades-long association with an organisation that his family has been part of for three generations. In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff he speaks why he quit the party.
Congress leaders are a jubilant lot after the results.
'Trump had done a deal with the current regime minus Maduro. The current regime is giving Trump entry into Venezuelan oil. They are obeying him and doing whatever he says.' 'They are happy because they have saved their heads by sacrificing only two, Maduro and his wife. Thousands of Venezuelan military leaders would have been jailed or killed in American action had Maduro stayed in power.'
'We have 38 Dalits who are MLAs and ministers. But that does not mean the Dalits of Bihar are prospering.'
'As a defence lawyer I won't know if a policeman under cross questioning is being prompted to answer by someone behind his computer screen.'
'When you compare Bihar's poverty from its earlier times, then there is a huge difference. Things have improved a lot. And migration has played an important role in reducing poverty.'
'Anyone they don't like can be potentially arrested and thrown in jail for 30 days to induce regime change.'
'The natural barrier that is Aravalli, you are demolishing it, then who will stop the desert?' 'In future, I predict that people will roam around with oxygen cylinders in Delhi because they won't be able to breathe.'
'The Pakistan establishment keeps him well protected.'
Dominic Xavier wonders whether Rhea is being made a scapegoat in a case which has clear political overtones.
'Even as the Supreme Court's anti-punitive demolition judgment nears its first anniversary, no formal contempt proceedings have been initiated either by the Supreme Court or any high court against officers or demolition squads who have acted in violation of it.'
'I want to request the central government that they should not target someone just for the sake of targeting him if he has not done anything wrong.'
'The people who were protesting and getting violent were all in the age group of 14-25.'
'He decides who will be Pakistan's prime minister, president, even provincial chief ministers.'
'I believe Modiji hai toh mumkin hai.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf offers a ready reckoner on Javed Akhtar's great great grandfather Fazl e Haq Khairabadi who fought the British empire during the 1857 Mutiny and was imprisoned in the Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
'Pakistan wanted India out of Afghanistan to which again the Taliban told Pakistan to take a walk.' 'Six months after they came back to power in 2021 India was back in Afghanistan at the request of the Taliban.' 'The Taliban realised that India has no agenda of its own in Afghanistan.'
Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf's excitement knew no bounds when he laid his hands on the 'poor man's iPad'. But the supposedly 'revolutionary' and 'game-changing' piece of technology that sells at Rs 2,500 a piece went kaput in 30 minutes flat. Yes, we are talking about the Aakash Tablet PC. Firdaus pours his heart out.
'We cannot enter any flat in Satguru building until the watchman gives us access.'
'If the INDIA bloc ever forms the government, they will be more than tempted to use such provisions to bring about regime change in BJP-ruled states.'
All the 12 cabin crew members, including two pilots, on board the ill-fated London-bound Air India flight were killed in the Ahmedabad air crash on Thursday.
'The real leader is not the one who builds flyovers and bridges. The real leader gets into the space of the human hearts which are at war and brings them together.' 'Gandhi did that. There cannot be a nation which is vibrant and strong where there is hatred which is tearing you apart,' filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com
The realities at the nerve centre of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement are glaring with lack of development, rampant unemployment and 12-hour long power cuts making life miserable. And most of the people are hopeful that Narendra Modi will change the situation in Ayodhya. Syed Firdaus Ashraf speaks to some Ayodhya residents to get a hang of their real issues.
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
'All these farmers and tribals were told to bring their own wood and ration to cook food during the march.'
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
'Pakistan is uncomfortable with the Indian presence in Afghanistan. They want the Taliban to ensure that there is no Indian presence in Afghanistan.'
The realities at the nerve centre of the Ram Janambhoomi movement are lack of development, rampant unemployment and 12 hour-long power cuts. Most residents hope Narendra Modi will change the situation in Ayodhya.
'Iranians admire Indian cinema and often mention Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan when you meet them.'
'If you can come with some arrangement with the Pakistanis that Pakistan ceases to stop creating trouble in Kashmir in return for the Indians not arming Afghanistan, everyone wins.' William Dalrymple discusses his new book Return of a King, Afghanistan, the Mughals and, of course, India with Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Narendra Modi can never be Vajpayee because the poet-prime minister had a heart. Modi doesn't. He only understands the language of business, of profit and loss. It is beyond his capacity to understand a complex country like India, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Jaswant Singh's biography of M A Jinnah has cost him his place in the BJP. Syed Firdaus Ashraf looks at Jinnah and his controversial place in India's history.
'I hope we can move towards peace, stability, and national unity.' 'I believe most Kashmiris want that too.'
'Vijay is not in the mood to care for the people even now.' 'Everybody is traumatised but Vijay is not consoling them.'
Puzzled about the Waqf Bill? Syed Firdaus Ashraf explains how the amended Waqf law will plug loopholes in the existing legislation.
'The government only wakes up after devastation.' 'The government does not understand the gravity of the situation nor they do not want to understand the gravity of the situation.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances