"Politics runs in every human being, and so does music."
"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."
"My voice is not good enough for me to sing a song."
"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?"
"We are wedded to freedom of expression and shall do nothing to diminish that freedom."
"We are great believers in the idea that the Internet can help bring justice, but justice varies from place to place across the world."
"Internet governance is an oxymoron. The Internet must govern itself. But you can't play cricket without any rules."
"While the Internet is important for us, India is also necessary for the Internet with its 1.2 billion population."
"To the youth who have taken up guns, I urge them to return to their parents and shun violence."
"India should be an exporter of technology."
"If two people cannot live together, both should have the right to opt out of the marriage. In an ideal world, that would be an acceptable solution."
"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."
"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."
"The government must understand that it cannot substitute the health, nutrition, and overall development outcomes of Indian citizens with 'efficiency gains.'"
"To fix India's healthcare scenario, what is most needed is 'systems thinking.' For far too long, India has followed a vertical approach in its health sector, which translated into disease-specific national programmes being set up."
"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.'"
"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."
"The government must adopt a rights-based approach that speaks to the needs and aspirations of surrogate mothers, children born out of surrogacy, and all individuals who want access to altruistic surrogacy services."
"By limiting access to surrogacy based on flimsy and exclusionary criteria, the government may just give rise to a mushrooming black market."
"The fabric of our Constitution and our civilisational culture is based on tolerance."
"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."
"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."
"Market mechanisms are totally irrelevant when resources are used to serve a larger purpose, especially for the underserved, unserved, or marginalised."
