Quotes from Atal Bihari Vajpayee

I prefer to die rather than eat beef.

The reality is that international institutions like the UN can only be as effective as its members allow it to be.

Neither India nor Russia perceives a threat from the strength of the other. Each sees a benefit for itself in the increased political and economic strength of the other.

Empowering the individual means empowering the nation. And empowerment is best served through rapid economic growth with rapid social change.

I am contesting elections since 1952, but never did I throw mud.

The BJP is not a party dependent on a single individual, nor is it tied to the apron strings of a family.

I would like that no citizen of the state feels alone and helpless. The entire nation is with them.

My government is committed to carrying out electoral reforms. It is our firm resolve to keep criminal elements away from power.

Labour reforms are not anti-worker.

There can be no compromise regarding corruption.

The BJP regards Muslims as Indians and human beings.

I believe India and Israel should focus on building bilateral relations on the basis of shared perspectives and commonalities between our two democracies. This has to be a forward-looking exercise rather than harking back to perceptions of the past.

We have ended hunger, but now we have to end famine.

India was secular even when Muslims hadn't come here and Christians hadn't set foot on this soil. It is not as if India became secular after they came. They came with their own modes of worship, and they, too, were given a place of honor and respect. They had the freedom to worship God as per their wish and inclination.

Ours is a multi-religious country, a multi-lingual country; we have many different modes of worship. We believe in peaceful and harmonious co-existence.

Let us together commence a journey of peace, harmony and progress in South Asia.

Free and fair elections have again demonstrated that Jammu and Kashmir is part of India, and the people want to remain with it.

Let no one challenge India's secularism.

Our aim should be to make India a global R&D hub.

Terrorism has become a festering wound. It is an enemy of humanity.

My message to the people and rulers of Pakistan is, 'As neighbours, we want peace and friendship and cooperation with you so that together we can change the face of South Asia.'

Our nuclear weapons are meant purely as a deterrent against nuclear adventure by an adversary.

Global interdependence today means that economic disasters in developing countries could create a backlash on developed countries.

I have never been a traitor. I am not an informer; I never betrayed my nation.