“My mind goes back to 7th November, 1990 when another no-confidence motion was being discussed in this House brought by the BJP, which was till then supporting the National Front Government along with us. That day we had seen who had supported the BJP’s no-confidence motion. The Congress Party did it for narrow political advantage. You have supported each other. On that day, the motion of confidence brought forward by Shri V P Singh was supported by us. Both of you had opposed it. On that day, we had also opposed the attempt to destablise the Government and we had supported the confidence motion of Shri V P Singh because of his principled fight against communalism. On that day, they had sacrificed the Government for the sake of upholding the principles of secularism in this country. Our decision today of not to support but to oppose this motion of no-confidence is guided by the same principle of our attachment and commitment to the principles of secularism and to the unity and integrity of this country.”

•When Deve Gowda sought a vote of confidence on June 1, 1996 after the United Front Govt took office

“..We cannot expect to go to the 21st century with Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or for that matter, the RSS. They cannot provide the leadership to this country. Sir, obscurantism cannot replace a sensible, pro-people, humane Government in this country. I am very happy that the machinations of a very minuscule minority in this country have not succeeded. The BJP and the fractured Samata Party could not provide even the minimal support base in this House. I am happy that the secular and progressive forces in this country have come together to form the United Front.”

•E M S Namboodiripad Memorial Lecture on ‘Democratic Consolidation: The Indian Experience’ on June 13, 2008 at Thiruvananthapuram (his most recent speech as the Speaker of Lok Sabha)

“In the opportunity the people gave him to head a Communist Government, Comrade EMS saw a mandate to translate his party’s ideals into practice. The land reforms initiated by him, which fixed an absolute ceiling on the land a family could own and provided for the excess land to be redistributed among the landless, remain the most successfully implemented land reforms in our country so far. The only other state that has come closer to the Kerala experiment is that of West Bengal. Fixity of tenure, freedom from eviction and a fair rent were some of the most notable features in the land reforms introduced by him.”