2012: Ideas expressed

Top political leaders and prominent social activists, senior administrators and bureaucrats, a deposed President and foreign ambassadors, leading economists and businessmen as well as successful sports personalities, including an Olympics silver medallist, were just some of the guests at this year's Idea Exchange. Some of the more memorable quotes from 2012

'The BJP's ideology is to obstruct. Give me one session of Parliament since 2009 where they have not obstructed'

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal

'Kejriwal's tactics of sitting outside peoples' homes, abusing everybody, this will pull down our democracy'

BJP president Nitin Gadkari

'We are not the HR manager for the BJP. Everyone has to run their own organisation'

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

'I have never castigated politicians or called them useless'

Social activist Anna Hazare

'It is always the government's temptation to keep nibbling away at the EC's powers'

Former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi who retired in June 2012

'To say we are becoming regressive because we opposed FDI in one sector is not fair judgment'

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha

'There is a problem in demanding far too much freedom for our institutions. How do you establish their accountability?'

Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra on giving institutional status to bodies like CAG

'I am looking forward to changing the colour of my medal in Rio'

Silver medallist at the 2012 London Olympics shooter Gagan Narang

'I will be acquitted long before the assembly elections are held'

Virbhadra Singh, now Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, on corruption charges. He was acquitted of these charges a day before he became Chief Minister

'I will go to hell and back to bring democracy back to Maldives'

Former president of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed

... contd.

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