I readily concede that a prime minister is not required to speak on every occasion or on every subject, but when there is a duty to speak, silence is unacceptable. Silence can be a strategy, silence can be a tactic, but silence can never be an answer to the ills of our polity and the fault lines of our society.
P. Chidambaram
Independence is a very subjective assessment.
Not all ideas will be accepted, but every idea deserves its own space, and every idea deserves to be expressed.
I don't think anyone has qualms in saying victory to the people of India. But when a political party appropriates such a slogan and says this is the definition of patriotism, those who say it are patriotic and those who don't are not patriotic, then I reject that definition.
Evidence points out that if you raise tariffs too much it will increase smuggling.
When I came back to India after Harvard Business School, I started as a lawyer and as a trade union leader.
I firmly believe that the Constitution is the most powerful challenge to illiberal tendencies. If the Constitution is followed in letter and spirit and if the laws are made in the spirit in which Constitution was made, liberties can indeed be protected.
All wisdom does not reside in Delhi.
Corruption is not the sole test of your worthiness to form the government.
It is possible that, post-Kyoto, the developed countries will recognise the requirements of the developing world.
Growth is a panacea for many ills in society; not entirely, but many.
The voter does not vote only on one issue, the voter votes on a multiplicity of issues.
I think people respect governments that take decisions and act decisively.
Unfortunately, terror is now linked to immigration, and anyone with dark skin or a beard or a Muslim name is suspect. Russia, France, then the United Kingdom, and now even Germany have no qualms about going far beyond their borders to strike at the enemies of their countries.
People are wiser than we are willing to attribute to them.
Today, to allege corruption seems to be the pastime of most people. All kinds of allegations are leveled. I think it is self-defeating.
A government can do only what is feasible given the political and economic context.
I don't think we should label budgets even before the budget is presented.
We cannot afford to leave the poor behind.
Two successive commissioners in London police were fired by the mayor that came into office. That doesn't mean the police in London is not independent and does not exercise powers. Ultimately it is the political executive that has to answer.
The police force cannot be completely independent of the executive government.
I respect the view of a rating agency, but I do not make a budget for the rating agency. I make a budget for the people of India.
Let me tell you, very frankly, when I went to the Harvard Business School I was more or less a committed socialist.
'Big business' was a bad phrase in India. To be accused of being big business was the worst accusation you could make. All that has gone now. The whole mindset has changed.
I have maintained that the people of India are ahead of their governments. The people of India are at least 10 to 15 years ahead of their governments.
People understand what is good for them in the long run. In the long run, what is good for people is that India's economy continues to grow at clipping pace, 8% and above, that itself brings host of benefits to the people. It brings better roads, it brings better schools, brings more money to the communities, it brings more jobs.
In income tax, there is no case for amnesty.
If you go back to any period in India's history, all the hard decisions this country had to take were taken when the Congress was in power.
Criticism of a policy is welcome. But in the garb of criticizing a policy, if you allege that the policy was made for corrupt purposes, I reject it.
Police can only act on intelligence.
I think preaching equality among unequals is the worst form of discrimination.
I belong to the Congress. My party has always supported prohibition, though it may not have been successful in implementing prohibition in many states.
As far as the Congress is concerned, we condemn any attempts to oppress the Dalits in strongest terms. If there are parties trying to fan the OBC-Dalit divide in Tamil Nadu, we need to collectively condemn them.
Pakistan is not a rogue state, but it harbours and covertly supports rogue elements. While war is not the answer, hard or coercive diplomacy could be.
A government must always be prepared for the unexpected.
Once the war of words begins, truth is the casualty.
