"I had prayed before Lord Ram that I wish with the help of every section of the society the temple will be constructed as soon as possible."

“The Congress made an attempt to defame the entire country in the name of Hindu terror. This is a country where we feed even ants that bite us. They created a false case and booked sadhus and sadhvis. I want to ask: everyone has been acquitted in the Samjhauta case. The court has said that there is no evidence. Shouldn’t The Indian Express ask for accountability of the real accused being left out? Look how they compromised national security for their vote bank politics. CBI had arrested them. Where are they? Isn’t it an issue for the country? Those who were caught, even American agencies had said that it was a Lashkar act, Indian agencies certified it. But to certify Hindu terror, saffron terror, you created false cases. Case after case collapsed in courts. But the media is sitting silent. Seculars are silent. The Indian Express is also silent. Why are you silent? At least you should ask about those accused. I think this is a big issue that needs to be in public debate.”

“But I think Uttar Pradesh electorate was fed up of this caste-based politics as the state has hardly seen any development, situation has deteriorated, investment, employment, women’s safety, rural and agriculture development, these areas hardly saw any development.”

“In Uttar Pradesh, caste politics is deep-rooted. But there is a negative side of it. When something is deep-rooted, it takes time for people to realise its ill effects, that’s natural. When a political culture takes shape, it takes time for it to fail.”

“But the only encounter killings Congress has taken to heart are those that led to killing of known terrorists like Sohrabuddin, Javed Sheikh, Zeeshan Johar, and Amjad Ali Rana who have been openly owned up by Pakistani terror outfits. The Congress is alleged to have provided the best of lawyers to the families of these terrorists, while at the same time gunning for Amit Shah, under whose tenure as home minister these encounter killings took place. The real target is Modi, not Shah because the Congress has built a case that these allegedly false encounter killings were ordered by Modi. This despite the fact that the killings took place with the active involvement of the Intelligence Bureau of the Government of India which provided inputs to the Gujarat police that these people were on a terror mission to the state. Never before in India, has a home minister been jailed for encounter killings of criminals or terrorists by the police, as was Amit Shah. This is not at all to justify false encounter killings even of dreaded terrorists. When a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court to demand that all the cases of encounter killings that had reached the National Human Rights Commission be reopened and examined like the six allegedly false encounter killings of Gujarat in Modi’s regime, the UPA government filed an affidavit in court blocking the move on the ground that it would “compromise national security!” Recently, when the CBI, the famed ‘caged parrot’ of UPA government demonstrated small signs of independence and gave a clean chit to Amit Shah saying the Congress would have been happy had Amit Shah been implicated, Congress politicians charged the CBI of having been bought over by Modi!”

“I have never seen economic deprivation. I was born in a rich family and brought up that way too. I have not seen a cash crunch. But, I firmly believe that whether you come from a traditionally rich family or poor family, what matters more for one's progress in politics is your sentiments for the people, your talent and a constant belief in your convictions.”

“I am in politics since the last 35 years, not once have I faced a charge of corruption. In last 35 years I have never ever changed my political track. I have always been what my party stands for. In last 35 years of public life wherever I have gone, whether it is the Ahmedabad district bank, the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation or in the government, I have tried to bring in reforms, new policies and able administration. I have a record of governance behind me.”