Verbatim

quot;We are not a small country. The best thing with being a nuclear power is that one does not have to use the power, the threat is enough.quot;

8212; R Chidambaram, Chairman Atomic Energy Commission, after his return to Mumbai from Pokharan.

quot;Actually the crime rate has not gone up, but people get that feeling as there has been a spate of house robberies and dacoities during the last few weeks.quot;

8212; Gopinath Munde, home minister, on being asked why the crime rate has shot up suddenly.

quot;The worst thing is when we try to sleep at night and the bandicoots run all over us.quot;

8212; Mumtaz, a resident of Prem Nagar, Behrampada, where houses were razed down by the Western Railway8217;s demolition squad.

quot;If I were not a singer,I would be a farmer.quot;

8212; Lucky Ali, singer.

quot;Before I began working in Fire, I supported the cause of Lesbians at a logical, intellectual level. Today, I understand.quot;

8212; Nandita Das, actress