The press in India, I believe, is more free, and happily so, than perhaps media anywhere in the world. Right? Which is a good thing.

Ever since Modi became prime minister, he has given a free rein to his ministers and BJP functionaries to create an environment of communal tension and violence.

Every child should get an opportunity to study irrespective of the economic status.

If you have decisions taken from time to time at the level of the executives, which gives the impression of being discriminatory, if you are not open when government is functioning, then obviously people will make allegations.

Governments getting involved in sports activities would ultimately damage sports.

The fabric of our Constitution and our civilisational culture is based on tolerance.

That's what technology does to you - makes you lazy but allows you to innovate.

Intolerance is alien to Hinduism.

The BJP, undoubtedly, is a party with a mission. Spreading hatred and religious discord, indulging in state-sponsored violence and fake encounter killings, and resorting to divisive politics have been integral to this mission.

Sedition involves sloganeering with incitement. It may be anti-national, but not a crime, unless you incite violence or communal tension.

For a movie, you have to make sure the lyrics are consistent with the rhythm that is given to you. But, at times, during the song's recording, you find out that your words are not appropriate for the track, and so you have to change them.

I have no personal ambitions. I consider it a great privilege to have been given an opportunity to serve, through the Congress party, the people of India. I think that itself is a great reward. I have no personal ambitions in that regard.

The optimal use of natural resources can be made only if there is a well-thought-out policy framework for their exploitation towards a particular end use.

The government must understand that it cannot substitute the health, nutrition, and overall development outcomes of Indian citizens with 'efficiency gains.'

We do not want to interfere with the freedom of press.

We are great believers in the idea that the Internet can help bring justice, but justice varies from place to place across the world.

Appointments to the higher judiciary must be through transparent processes, which ensure that persons of impeccable integrity and high competence are appointed to these positions.

Can any sane person say that before something comes on the Net you must screen it? How can there be pre-screening?

Great research universities around the world are visible not just through their quality graduates but as knowledge creators and technology developers.

Ownership is a very complex judicial concept.

We must make the government accept that at a time when we are expected to look ahead, we cannot afford to start discriminating against our own people in the name of 'ethos.'

Modi may be rich in politics but is poor at heart.

My abiding faith in the wisdom of our electorate is what gives me hope.

There's a difference between those who breed terrorism and those who fight terrorism. This difference should be recognised by the people of India.

All of us have a romantic streak in us. That's why we are fallible, aren't we?

In India, by and large, women are not educated enough to be bread winners and, within the moorings of traditional cultures, do not have the courage and the capacity to leave the matrimonial home. Given the inequality prevalent in family structures, the woman's right to opt out is suicidal.

We are wedded to freedom of expression and shall do nothing to diminish that freedom.

The mindset of a terrorist and the mindset of intolerance know no territorial boundaries when individuals are targeted either for their eating habits or for any other reason.

By limiting access to surrogacy based on flimsy and exclusionary criteria, the government may just give rise to a mushrooming black market.

If the Planning Commission said those who live above Rs 5,000 a month are not at poverty line, obviously there is something wrong with the definition of poverty in this country. How can anybody live at Rs 5,000?

No one can end it, but incidents of corruption can be reduced.

When the state machinery defends criminals and the public prosecutors collude with the accused in certain cases and the victims are members of a particular community, then 'Justice to all' is empty rhetoric.

Politics runs in every human being, and so does music.

My voice is not good enough for me to sing a song.

While the Internet is important for us, India is also necessary for the Internet with its 1.2 billion population.

India should be an exporter of technology.

Unless the issue of the empowerment of women is addressed, the practice of women being unfairly treated will remain unresolved.

What the government and we in society need to do is to address the issue of gender justice.

There is an urgent need for the Central government to take the lead in ensuring health and nutrition service delivery.

Yes, the state must intervene to prevent the exploitation of poor Indian women who are enticed or coerced into surrogacy, as well as to protect the rights of surrogate children. However, it should also be empathetic to individuals with alternative lifestyles who are well within their legal and human rights to demand access to surrogacy services.

Market mechanisms are totally irrelevant when resources are used to serve a larger purpose, especially for the underserved, unserved, or marginalised.

Economists often get the market wrong.

The success of a particular policy prescription is always a gamble.

Natural resources must be so distributed, by way of auction or otherwise, that they serve a larger public purpose.

The greater the power, the greater the responsibility in its exercise.

Public interest is a very unruly horse.

Most of us tend to be swayed by what we read. Judges are not superhuman. They, too, are mortals. This is why they have to be exceptionally careful in rendering decisions, which cause unintended consequences.

Given an opportunity, Modi has violated the freedom of press both in letter and spirit. He destroys freedom of the press whenever he gets a chance.

Our party never tolerated those who use violence for political ends. Our leaders lost their lives standing against terrorism.

You may dislike what somebody else has said; that is perfectly valid. You may not agree with what somebody else has said. But saying something cannot possibly amount to sedition.