Vajpayee Quotes

Which is the real Vajpayee?

Conversions
If you allow conversions, then reconversions cannot be stopped.
A.B.Vajpayee, responding to a complaint made by the church of North India
against reconversions by Hindu organisations; in the Asian Age, January 16.
1999
I do not accept the contention that people are being converted by force.
PM, A.B.Vajpayee, at a press conference, talking about forced
conversions; February 4. 1999

"Kagaz hil rahe hai. Tezi se chal rahe hai (papers are moving and moving
fast)."Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the expected arrival of the last set
of papers relating to the Bofors scandal. Press Trust of India, August 16, 1999

You know Holy Father, that India is a land of religious freedom, but we have
some intolerant fringes.
A.B. Vajpayee, Prime Minister, to the Pope,
in The Times of India
Nov 1999

I did not realise that the Lahore road will lead to Kargil.
Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister.
Deccan Herald
May 01 1999
The Lahore bus drive was not a drama. It was to test Pakistans conviction.
From Lahore we reached Kargil and now those who masterminded Kargil
are ruling Pakistan.
AB Vajpayee, PM of India, in India Today.
Sept 2000

Koi aisa mai ka lal nahin hai jo Bharat kharid sakta hai (None can ever buy
India).
AB Vajpayee, PM, at the BJPs 20th anniversary celebrations,

in The Asian Age. May 01 2000

Ayodhya
PRIME MINISTER Vajpayee on Wednesday said that the construction of the
Ram Temple at Ayodhya was "an expression of the national feeling which is
yet to be realised." He added that how the temple is built is also very
important.
AB Vajpayee
Dec 12 2000

Ayodhya
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee gave another fillip to the Ramjanmabhoomi
movement by saying that if were there to be a negotiated settlement of the
Ayodhya dispute, it could only mean the construction of a Ram temple at
the disputed site.
Leaving no room for restoration of the Babri masjid at the place where it stood,
Vajpayee said: If there is a negotiated settlement, the temple should be
built at the site and a mosque can be built elsewhere.
Atal Behari Vajpayee gathering at the residence of Syed Shahnawaz
Hussain, the minister of state for human resources development:
8 Dec 2000 Times of India
Ayodhya
"I hope the needless political diversion (over the Ayodhya issue) of last
week is over. It is time now for all of us to re-focus our attention on the
most important agenda before the nation namely, development," he said
while inaugurating the two-day 73rd Annual session of the FICCI here.
Dec 17 2000 Deccan Herald
Sangh is my soul
"I will not always remain the Prime Minister, there are plenty of people for
the job in Delhi. But my right to remain a Swayamsevak cannot be taken
away," he told the meeting. Vajpayee while sharing dias with VHP leaders
STATEN ISLAND (New York),
Sept 09 2000 Telegraph

Fundamentalism
When one kind of fundamentalism raises its head, and it is not checked,
then it encourages other kinds to grow. So we all need to exercise great
caution. There are limits to vote-bank politics.
---Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, at a function organised by an
Urdu weekly Secular Qayadat Weekly, at hi residence, in The Times of India.

Feb 28 2001
Attacks on the Quran
After a series of Quran-burning incidents, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
issued a strong statement tonight, condemning attacks on the holy book and
urging the states concerned to take immediate action.
These acts are aimed at weakening national unity and communal amity in
India by creating disharmony, disaffection and conflict between Muslims
and non-Muslims, Vajpayee said, but added that they were isolated and
aberrant in nature.
Telegraph, 23 March 2001
Islam
Islam has made a significant development to our culture. We do not
consider any religion foreign to us. For nearly thousand years, Islam has
been part and parcel of our national and social life.
AB Vajpayee, PM, the first leader from India to be addressing the Iranian
Majlis (Parliament), in The Telegraph.May 20 2001
When terrorism feeds on religious extremism, its destructive power
increases manifold.
--Atal Behari Vajpayee, speaking to a group of Russian intellectuals during his
Russia trip, Asian Age, November 6, 2001
Terrrorism
We have to reject arcane and unproductive arguments on the definition of
international and state-sponsored terrorism of their root causes.
Atal Behari Vajpayee, in a speech in Lok Sabha, in Times of India, Nov 21.
Coffingate
Prime Minister Vajpayee pushed the entire scam under the carpet under the
pretext of a national emergency: ''Emergency situations demand emergency
measures... We cannot continue to haggle infinitely over the price of
military equipment when the country's sovereignty is at stake.'' February
2002
Tehelka
Vajpayee said the Opposition was overplaying the (Tehelka) issue
because of the coming Assembly elections. He said the
country could not be ruled without consensus but difficulties were being
created in the path of arriving at that consensus.
The Prime Minister also had a small sermon for the media. Vajpayee said
the media should refrain from going in for sensational stuff. This was not
the first time he had criticized the media since the Tehelka revelations.

May 07 2001
India Shining
"Such pessimists do not realise the chamatkar (wonder) taking place. The
scientists are preparing to undertake a moon mission," he said. "We want
the moon to shine on the earth. We want to bring swarg (heaven) here. The
dreams of Mungeri Lal (the common man) are being fulfilled."
The Hindu, Feb 11, 2004