'Nowhere is it written in the Constitution that Ravan's effigy must be burnt.'
'It is not that I don't want to say "Jai Shri Ram".' I only said I will not say this slogan under any pressure.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents 10 dynasts of the BJP who have managed to get elected this time round.
'You want poor people who take 5 kg rice to produce an Aadhaar card.' 'The poor man may or may not have Aadhaar.' 'Poor people are losing their food and dying.'
It is a waste of time to speak up in today's India, believes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'We have been fighting for the last 70 years on the issue of Article 370.'
'The Indian government spent Rs 506 crore on security of the separatists in the last five years.' 'These separatist leaders must know how ordinary people live. Have you ever seen Geelani's son throwing stones?' 'The separatists have encouraged people into this stone throwing business. They have destroyed Kashmir.' Jammu BJP MLA Rajesh Gupta on why separatists must not be given security.
'That she drove 20 km in 9 minutes is rubbish.'
'Sachin Pilot had every legitimate right to demand to become CM.'
Mulk tells Indian Muslims they have to ensure that their children don't get involved in jihad, and at the same time tells Hindus not to doubt the patriotism of Indian Muslims, notes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'The BJP had a big threat from the Congress in J&K, therefore they were threatened by us.'
'Why do the English-speaking class feel they are the only ones who are efficient in work?' 'My own mother was from a village and she was more efficient than me. She used to handle crises better than me.' 'We will have to come out of our elite perception of governance.'
''I had no idea that my life would turn into a horror show.' 'I was stuck as the Russians kept bombing Kyiv non-stop.'
'Destabilising the Yediyurappa government is not a cakewalk.' 'If he is destabilised, then the BJP will have problems in Karnataka.'
'You cannot give authority to citizens to start policing the State.'
'You need to have enough funds to maintain the primacy of public transport and it should not suffer because of lack of funds.'
'The Chinese have not crossed the LAC in Galwan.' 'They are on their side of the LAC and we are on our side.'
Onkar Singh, a valuable member of the Rediff.com team over the years, breathed his last on January 13. Syed Firdaus Ashraf, who knew him intimately, remembers the ultimate newsman.
'They also think that if all opposition parties rally behind him, then 2024 will be Rahul versus Modi and that will be advantage BJP'
'If you have only one hit out of 100 movies in a year, it is death for Bollywood.'
"Such are his core supporters that they will vote for him even if cooking oil sells for Rs 5,000 per litre under his leadership.' 'They don't think about inflation but Modi when they go out to vote.'
Blaring music. Manic shoppers. A foreign brand launch.
'The BJP is using all the central agencies at its disposal (to undermine us).' 'We are also taking care that our MLAs are not poached.'
'Muslims have been observing namaaz for so many years.' 'The BJP wants to divide Hindus and Muslims for political gains.' 'This is happening in Haryana even though Muslims are only present in one district of Haryana.'
'Muslims should not justify demolition of temples by foreign invaders.'
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Viral Acharya is the eighth economist to quit since the Modi government took office.
'I welcome Droupadi Murmu as the first Adivasi woman President of India, but her track record has not been good as a politician and governor of Jharkhand when it came to helping Adivasis,' points out activist Gladson Dungdung.
'The government must have armed security personnel for doctors and only then they can go and serve people.'
'Muslims must show patience and endurance.' 'The perception that has been created against them needs to be changed by them.'
Raghuram Rajan's exit reminds Syed Firdaus Ashraf of Kafka's The Trial.
'Earlier, a lot of fear was in the minds of people that the BJP is anti-Christian and anti-minority, but over the years people have learnt to accept that the BJP is just another national party.'
Tanveer Jafri -- son of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the massacre -- speaks to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on how the carnage was a conspiracy against the community and their continuous fight for justice.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf wonders why no one objects to jokes about Rahul Gandhi, but are upset when Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar are mocked.
'I hope that by seeing us in such huge numbers the government will get scared and agree to our demands.'
'It is a very irresponsible statement.' 'He is saying all the wrong things.'
'It could take at least a couple of years for his case to go through the entire run of the British judiciary.'
'I had told the government that if they could not take care of Shaktiman, I would take care of him.'
Dr Rajendra Bharud has done what no other district collector in India could do as the pandemic ravaged the nation. He not only made Nandurbar district oxygen surplus, but ensured that the supply of life-saving oxygen remained uninterrupted for patients -- something even Delhi and Mumbai hospitals have not achieved yet.
'The Government of India should start a dialogue with the people of Ladakh, but the trouble is they are not willing to listen to our grievances.'
'If people want to blackmail others to get information or harm things, so why will someone give them information?'
