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#Conclave16: It's correct I don't have good relations with Sonia or Rahul Gandhi, says Amit Shah

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DailyBiteMar 17, 2016 | 22:53

#Conclave16: It's correct I don't have good relations with Sonia or Rahul Gandhi, says Amit Shah

In what will be surely touted as the first public talk that the BJP national president acquiesced to give since the loss of face (or not, according to the "grand strategist") in the Bihar Assembly elections, Amit Shah dazzled and kept everyone on tenterhooks at India Today's Conclave 2016.

Speaking to Rahul Kanwal, Shah not only took on slightly itchy questions - such as those on the absconding industrialist Vijay Mallya, anti-nationalism, JNU row, reservation, RSS, idea of India and many more - but he batted like a pro, scoring sixers and boundaries in some, while deftly dodging a few.    

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Amit Shah speaks to Ranhul Kanwal at India Today #Conclave16. [Photo credit: Ramesh Sharma/India Today]

Here are some of the key quotes from him.

On #BharatMataKiJai

"Media is giving undue importance to the row over the slogan Bharat Mata ki Jai."

"We don't consider people like Asaduddin Owaisi anti-national."

"Will make them understand, the 1 per cent of people who do not want to say Bharat Mata Ki Jai."

"It was a decision of the Maharashtra Assembly. Can't comment on it." (On suspension of AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan.)

On #AfzalGuru

"Organising an event in support of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru is an anti-national thing to do."

"Our government with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir worked under a common minimum programme."

On religion and politics

"The question to ask Congress is why they allied with Muslim League, which broke the nation, in Kerala."

"Say what you will against an individual, or this government, against Narendra Modi. But we will not tolerate anyone speaking against the country."

"We are not imposing any agenda on the people of the country."

On #JNU and #StudentsPolitics

"Nothing wrong in Rahul Gandhi visiting JNU, but his statements that the voices were being suppressed was wrong."

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"Rohith Vemula's death was unfortunate, but no one discussed the 9 students who committed suicide in the UPA rule."

On #AssemblyPolls, #BiharElections

"We learnt our lessons from the loss in Bihar Assembly polls but it was not a referendum on Narendra Modi."

"We will form government in Assam. I don't contest election just to participate in it."

"Arrogance is not in my nature."

On the #Gandhis

"It's correct that I do not have good relations with Sonia or Rahul Gandhi. And it's perfectly fine that I don't. Not from my side at least, won't tell you why."

On #RamMandir

"Construction of Ram Mandir with everyone's consent is in BJP's manifesto."

On #ModiSarkar

"I am satisfied with the overall performance of the Modi government. But lot is required to be done."

"I guarantee that this government will be a corruption-free regime."

On #Reservation

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"The BJP is in support of ST/SC reservation. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat never opposed SC/ST reservation."

On #IdeaOfIndia

"There is a difference between ideology and a remark made by anyone." (In response to a question from Amar Singh)

"We need to understand that India is a geo-culture nation."

On #VijayMallya

"Wrong to say that the government allowed Vijay Mallya to sneak out of the country. Agree there has been a lapse in this issue."

Last updated: March 17, 2016 | 22:56
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