Times Now Summit 2022: Voices that matter participate in a thought-provoking dialogue - Who said what

New Delhi: The Times Now Summit 2022 was a thought-provoking dialogue of voices that matter. The two-day event witnessed participation from decision-makers who shared some very interesting and engaging views on issues that are likely to shape India's future in the years ahead.

A look at some of the most impacting statements made during Times Now Summit 2022

Live with it... I am not running a foreign policy for the demands of other people: EAM S Jaishankar

"I am not running a foreign policy for the demands of other people. (My foreign policy) is for what is in my country's and my people's interest. I believe that India's interests are well served. (We) advocate severeignity and want the conflict to end. And I think that is the right thing to do. Had I done what the US said, I would have been of no use to anyone including myself."

Kashmir not a personal achievement: Amit Shah

“This is not a personal achievement. I am a member of the Cabinet and the achievement is of the Modi Cabinet and the government. But yes, in Jammu and Kashmir, the Modi government has brought in a drastic change. It used to be said that J&K is with India due to Article 370. Now Article 370 and 35A are not there but J&K is still a part of India."

Collegium system is alien to the Indian Constitution: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju
"Collegium system is alien to the Indian Constitution. But because the Supreme Court (courts) created a collegium, the government has to do due dilligence. What is the difference between consultation and concurrence? Is it the same? The collegium system needs to be replaced by a better system. As long as it is prevailing, I have to respect the system. But if you expect that the government has to sign a decision, only because it has been recommended by a collegium... then what is the role of the government? The court itself says that the government has to do due dilligence."

Nobody cuts a woman into pieces in the heat of the moment: Union Minister Smriti Irani
"Nobody cuts a woman into pieces in the heat of the moment. The fact that the abuse was continuous and was known to so many people is an issue which needs to be reflected upon by everyone."

Justice UU Lalit on NJAC
“At the stage of entry, there are two streams which are available — through the lower judiciary or the district judiciary; and the advocates. The district judiciary because of the very paramedical structure and subordination of courts, the High Court is always in control of the district judiciary. They are aware of what kind of talent they have. They normally through appellate or revisional proceedings see the judgements which come before them. So they test the ability day-in and day-out.”

There is an element of love jihad in Aftab-Shraddha case: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
"There is an element of love jihad in Aftab-Shraddha case... There is a group of people who think that one should talk about roads and electricity. But along with that the security of women in the country, social issues have to be talked about. It is my right to say."

Many who speak against Agnipath are not from the Armed forces or have nothing to do with the forces: General (retd) VK Singh

“Many who speak about this [the Agnipath Scheme] are either not from the Armed forces themselves or have nothing to do with the forces. And I say this because the allegations of reduced efficiency or motivation are baseless. The system of selection remains the same. The raw materials remain the same. The training remains the same."

The problem of climate change is created by humans: Union Minister for Environment and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav
"The problem of climate change is created by humans, and if the earth is in danger then it will affect all the living beings on the planet. Nature works on the principle of balance."

Any robust healthcare system must provide for affordability, accessibility, and availability: Minister of Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education of Andhra Pradesh, Vidadala Rajini

"Any robust healthcare system must provide for affordability, accessibility, and availability. This module actually helps the rural areas, our honourable CM feels that rural areas should have the same facility as the urban areas. We have 10000+ clinics in rural areas and 1,100 plus PHCs (public healthcare centres) in rural areas."

India is on a path of rapid recovery: Union Minister Piyush Goyal
"India is on a path of rapid recovery... India's reality is that when other countries are struggling with 8-10 per cent inflation, India is witnessing lower inflation and is almost half of the inflation it once witnessed."

Was asked to sign illegal documents: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan
“They were forcing me to sign documents and orders that according to me were downright illegal and would be considered irregular in any respectable democracy. I became so exasperated by the continued irregularities that I attempted to resign and then they came at me with all kinds of allegations."


UCC in six months in Uttarakhand: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

“With that, soon after our oath-taking ceremony, the upcoming BJP government will form a committee of those with knowledge of the legal system, retired employees, prominent people from society and other stakeholders. This committee will prepare a draft of the uniform civil code for the people of Uttarakhand. This UCC will be for equal laws on subjects like marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance for people of all religions.”

Nehru didn't tell the history, it was told by imminent historians: Congress leader Salman Khurshid

"I think the Nehruvian consensus presented history the way it was, Nehru didn't tell anyone to write history in one particular way but it was done by some noted historians with absolutely no political ambitions and did their jobs with honesty."

If you fill up oil coffers then are you not profiteering from war? Manish Tewari, Congress leader

“It is all very good to justify our national interest entails that we take a position whereby we are able to protect ourselves. But if you extend that position to actually take advantage of war and fill up oil coffers then are you not profiteering from war and someone else’s tragedy.”

19 of 20 pages of earlier draft were dedicated to condemning Russia: Amitabh Kant, Former NITI Aayog CEO and India’s G20 Sherpa

“G20 isn’t a political body, it’s an economic body. G7’s position was to discuss the economic implications—such as impact on fuel and food prices—of the Russia-Ukraine war, and the earlier draft reflected the same. As many as 19 out of the 20 pages of the earlier draft were dedicated to condemning Russia, which, of course, wasn’t acceptable to Moscow.”

Excise revenue? Same government distributed free ration to over 80 crore people: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri
"Whoever thinks that government is collecting revenue from excise must note that this same government distributed free ration to over 80 crore people during the pandemic and 220 crore vaccines were given."



Indian cinema is expected to become $100 billion by the year 2030: Anurag Thakur, I&B Minister
"Indian cinema is expected to become $100 billion by the year 2030. He further added that India has a "great opportunity", be it film shooting, co-production, or post-production, as we have the right talent."

Entire target of Vande Bharat in three years: Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw

"The target of having 475 Vande Bharat trains is on track. In the last budget, 400 trains were sanctioned and 75 were sanctioned earlier. We will be achieving the entire target in the coming three years."

By 2025 India should be world's 3rd biggest automobile market: Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer- Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki
"The projections are that by 2025 (that is not so far away) we should be number three behind US and China, currently Japan is number three, so we should be there by 2025."