My message to the people and rulers of Pakistan is, 'As neighbours, we want peace and friendship and cooperation with you so that together we can change the face of South Asia.'

India was secular even when Muslims hadn't come here and Christians hadn't set foot on this soil. It is not as if India became secular after they came. They came with their own modes of worship, and they, too, were given a place of honor and respect. They had the freedom to worship God as per their wish and inclination.

It requires an effort of logical acrobatics to believe that carnage of innocents is an instrument for freedom and elections are a symbol of deception and repression!

I am often accused of colluding with the British during the freedom struggle. I want to ask, how?

The BJP is not a party dependent on a single individual, nor is it tied to the apron strings of a family.

I have a vision of India: an India free of hunger and fear, an India free of illiteracy and want.

Poverty is multidimensional. It extends beyond money incomes to education, health care, political participation and advancement of one's own culture and social organisation.

We believe in equal respect for all faiths.

As we talk with candour, we open the doors to new possibilities and new areas of cooperation in advance in democracy, in combating terrorism, in energy and environment, science and technology and international peacekeeping.

The spending in science and technology need to be to increased.

India has the sanction of her own past glory and future vision to become strong - in every sense of the term.

I dream of an India that is prosperous, strong and caring. An India, that regains a place of honour in the comity of great nations.

Our nuclear scientists and engineers have done a splendid job, and naturally, the entire nation has risen to salute their professional excellence, discipline, and patriotism. They have had the benefit of having been led in the past by great men like Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.

My government is committed to carrying out electoral reforms. It is our firm resolve to keep criminal elements away from power.

People want government to deliver - here and now.

For the Bharatiya Janata Party, Gandhian socialism is what we want to achieve and make society free of exploitation and full of opportunities.

Indian democracy's greatest strength is that we have always put the nation above politics.

My poet's heart gives me strength to face political problems, particularly those which have a bearing on my conscience.

Neither India nor Russia perceives a threat from the strength of the other. Each sees a benefit for itself in the increased political and economic strength of the other.

It is true that of all the states in India, Nagaland has a unique history. We are sensitive to this historical fact. But this uniqueness has in no way diminished the spirit of patriotism among the Naga people.

India helped Bangladesh to achieve independence. The Bangladeshis should remain happy inside the territory of their own country.

If the elections are a mere fraud, why are terrorists being trained and infiltrated into India at the command of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency of Pakistan to kill election candidates and to intimidate voters?

Our objective should be to firmly deal with terrorism and its sponsors, financiers, and arms suppliers. At the same time, our doors should always be open for processes which would restore peace, development, and progress to societies which have been devastated by terrorism over many generations.

While accepting donations, no one looks at the colour of money.

The regional parties have emerged as a strong force, and they, too, deserve a place in national politics.

India has never played politics with national security.

I believe that democracy is the best guarantor for peace and cooperation among nations.

For development, peace is essential.

We want peace to be permanent.

Our frequent initiatives to normalise relations with Pakistan are not a sign of our weakness; rather, they are an indication of our commitment to peace.

Whatever understanding is reached with Pakistan has to be followed honestly, and everybody will have to rise above party politics and be actively committed to make India prosperous.

For me, power was never an attraction.

This power of democracy is a matter of pride for our country, something which we must always cherish, preserve and further strengthen.

India is a proud and sovereign country. We do not take any decisions under pressure from the U.S. or any other power.

Let me make one thing clear. I have never considered mere survival in power as any achievement, just as I have never seen coming to power as an achievement in itself.

We need to convert the extraordinary goodwill between India and Russia into a thriving, visible, vigorous, and mutually beneficial economic relationship.

I would like that no citizen of the state feels alone and helpless. The entire nation is with them.

India and the United States have taken a decisive step, away from the past. The dawn of the new century has marked a new beginning in our relations. Let us work to fulfil this promise and the hope of today. Let us remove the shadow of agitation that lies between us and our joint vision.

We hope the world will act in the spirit of enlightened self-interest.

Himachal is my second home.

Victory and defeat are a part of life, which are to be viewed with equanimity.