'They know that if they do not tie up with the Congress, then the minorities will move to the Congress.'
'We are very close to become a theocratic State where Hinduism is the official religion of the government.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com finds out why Sacred Games has run into trouble.
'His biggest contribution as defence minister was to change the rules of bringing martyred soldiers' bodies home.'
Cafe Irani Chaii is Mansoor Showghi Yezdi's attempt at preserving Irani culture in an age of globalisation, where old cultures are swiftly fading away.
'Till today, we don't know how many people died of Covid in India.' 'How many migrated from cities to villages during the Covid pandemic?' 'How many corporates contributed to PM Cares?'
'The BJP has 106 MLAs and Eknath Shinde claims the support of 40 MLAs. So why are they both not forming the government right now in Mumbai? Why the delay?' Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf reports.
'Government supplied public services are less likely to be found in neighbourhoods with high numbers of Scheduled Castes and Muslims.'
'We cannot leave our entire unorganised sector to the vagaries of market forces.'
'India has demonstrated that if tomorrow, any enemy country that has a lot of satellites threatens it, India can (bring them down).'
'I approached the ministries for a response, but they did not respond on time, so I had to approach the court.'
There are many life lessons to be learnt from the way Sharad Pawar handled the Maharashtra political crisis.
'This award is funded by American money so I took this decision.'
'The Opposition thinks since the ruling party is following Savarkar's Hindutva philosophy, they want to regain their lost political mileage (by attacking Savarkar).' 'By doing so, they think they will get their power back.'
'The buildings all around had caved in or were damaged. The trees were all uprooted. Things were very scary.'
'Nobody is speaking up for Muslims today.' 'Secular parties too have calmed down because they feel this will hurt the Hindu vote (bank).' 'In this scenario, where does a Muslim go?'
'If the central government does not give rights to the people of Ladakh, then it won't be good for our country.'
'There is no law or Article in the Constitution that says the prime minister must inaugurate the new Parliament, but Article 79 of the Constitution says the President of India is the competent person.'
Nothing 'accidental' about this movie, feels Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'It is a frightening situation as the most threatening aspect is the development and growth of society.' 'Once our society comes into perpetual violent mode, then investments will drop.'
'A stable and strong Pakistan with an anti-India mindset and hatred is not good for us.'
'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.'
'Rahul Gandhi never gets firsthand information. He does not know what is good or bad going on in the party.'
'The time has come for all those believe in a democratic India to stand up and be counted and to make a choice.'
'The Maoists have weakened considerably in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh after Milind Teltumbde's death.'
No one can make the audience laugh like Govinda, raves Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'They will be in prison all their life and they will understand what suffering means to Reuben's and Keenan's families.'
'Hindus have never been polarised across Maharashtra in any state election.'
'We don't know how and why this happened as the route interlock signal works fine millions of times every day across India.'
'Yogi was there, but ultimately the BJP got extremely worried and therefore Modi pitched in.'
'Assam is not a dumping ground for Bangladeshi Hindu refugees,' says Assamese actor Ravi Sharma who joined the BJP in August and quit the party on December 10 in protest against the Citizenship Act.
'We request the Indian government that they send some buses urgently so that we can travel in groups and reach safety.'
So worried is Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde of desertions that he is asking rebel MLAs in Guwahati to sign affidavits affirming that they won't go back on supporting the 'cause of Hindutva' after reaching Mumbai.
'Modi is now the biggest messiah of OBCs and Dalits as V P Singh once was.'
'For free supply of drugs and medicines itself, almost Rs 20,000 crores would be required.'
'...by directing these draconian provisions against political and ideological opponents of the ruling group, minorities, and those who dare to dissent through and selective prosecution and prolonged incarceration as undertrials.'
'Had they agreed to our demands that we raised two years ago, we would have never started our agitation again.'
If Govinda wants to give Bollywood's filmmakers a wake up call, he needs to do a film that showcases his acting talent, writes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Sanju is a repeat of Munnabhai, feels Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'People tell us openly that in 2024 we will vote for Modi.'
