P. CHIDAMBARAM

I respect the view of a rating agency, but I do not make a budget for the rating agency. I make a budget for the people of India.

People understand what is good for them in the long run. In the long run, what is good for people is that India's economy continues to grow at clipping pace, 8% and above, that itself brings host of benefits to the people. It brings better roads, it brings better schools, brings more money to the communities, it brings more jobs.

Today, to allege corruption seems to be the pastime of most people. All kinds of allegations are leveled. I think it is self-defeating.

I think people respect governments that take decisions and act decisively.

Police can only act on intelligence.

We cannot afford to leave the poor behind.

I have maintained that the people of India are ahead of their governments. The people of India are at least 10 to 15 years ahead of their governments.

The voter does not vote only on one issue, the voter votes on a multiplicity of issues.

All wisdom does not reside in Delhi.

Two successive commissioners in London police were fired by the mayor that came into office. That doesn't mean the police in London is not independent and does not exercise powers. Ultimately it is the political executive that has to answer.

'Big business' was a bad phrase in India. To be accused of being big business was the worst accusation you could make. All that has gone now. The whole mindset has changed.

It is possible that, post-Kyoto, the developed countries will recognise the requirements of the developing world.

Independence is a very subjective assessment.

Growth is a panacea for many ills in society; not entirely, but many.

If you go back to any period in India's history, all the hard decisions this country had to take were taken when the Congress was in power.

A government can do only what is feasible given the political and economic context.

When I came back to India after Harvard Business School, I started as a lawyer and as a trade union leader.

Criticism of a policy is welcome. But in the garb of criticizing a policy, if you allege that the policy was made for corrupt purposes, I reject it.

The police force cannot be completely independent of the executive government.

People are wiser than we are willing to attribute to them.

Let me tell you, very frankly, when I went to the Harvard Business School I was more or less a committed socialist.

In income tax, there is no case for amnesty.

Evidence points out that if you raise tariffs too much it will increase smuggling.

I don't think we should label budgets even before the budget is presented.

I firmly believe that the Constitution is the most powerful challenge to illiberal tendencies. If the Constitution is followed in letter and spirit and if the laws are made in the spirit in which Constitution was made, liberties can indeed be protected.