Kapil Sibal

M&A guidelines need to be liberal.

We're trying to create a better world, not a perfect one. It cannot ever be perfect.

Just as judges have enormous stake in the appointment of judicial officers in the higher judiciary, the government has an equal stake. Since both of us have stakes in the appointment of members of the higher judiciary, the consultation of both of them is absolutely necessary. The government must have a say.

BJP is the mothership of violence.

Public figures will get public criticism, and they should be tolerant enough to take it.

The press in India, I believe, is more free, and happily so, than perhaps media anywhere in the world. Right? Which is a good thing.

Can any sane person say that before something comes on the Net you must screen it? How can there be pre-screening?

I would welcome satirical references to political leaders as part of freedom of expression.

Judges decide upon copyright law. They decide upon trademark law. They decide upon scientific issues. They decide upon very complex technical issues on a daily basis. So you must have confidence in the Supreme Court, that they will apply their mind and they will come out with a decision consistent with the Constitution.

Ownership is a very complex judicial concept.

When I took over the ministry for science and technology, our weather systems were in shambles. Nobody believed in the IMD. Nothing was in digital mode. I changed all that. We got automatic rain gauges, automatic weather stations, Doppler radars.

I have no personal ambitions. I consider it a great privilege to have been given an opportunity to serve, through the Congress party, the people of India. I think that itself is a great reward. I have no personal ambitions in that regard.

I came into politics by accident. I may go out of politics by accident.

Modi is an excellent orator - sure, anybody who spouts untruths is an excellent orator.

I personally believe technology can transform the functioning of the judicial system.

The overreach of the judiciary can be attributed to, one, the inability of the executive to deliver; and two, the tendency to issue judicial pronouncements for national good. The second element is dangerous because that's the function of the government.

The appointment of judges to the higher judiciary cannot be the sole domain of a few members of the higher judiciary. This turf must be shared.

The justice delivery system needs structural change. It needs fresh vision and innovative solutions.

Through geospatial technologies, you can plan a whole city sitting in your room.

You learn on the job. When I was a young lawyer and got a case, I knew nothing about the subject. You start reading, you look for the philosophy behind it, and by the time you are actually in a court of law, you are a master.

That's what technology does to you - makes you lazy but allows you to innovate.

I think poetry is a fabulous medium to encapsulate thoughts far more precisely than prose.

I have been writing poetry for a long time now. I started writing in my school days.

Sedition involves sloganeering with incitement. It may be anti-national, but not a crime, unless you incite violence or communal tension.

An individual can have a point of view. He is entitled to that.

I am a lawyer by profession.

No matter who the prime minister is, incremental changes take place. The economy moves on.

How do you trust a government whose people are proved to be untrustworthy?

How do you trust a prime minister who said one thing before the elections and does exactly the opposite after the elections?

When you have a limited resource and you have a lot of people wanting that resource, then those who get more justify as to why they got more, and those who get less say they have been treated badly.

If you have decisions taken from time to time at the level of the executives, which gives the impression of being discriminatory, if you are not open when government is functioning, then obviously people will make allegations.

It would be a matter of concern for government if intrusive data capture has been deployed against Indian citizens or government infrastructure.

The great challenge before the IITs is to act as a catalyst in the growth of quality technical education in the country.

Great research universities around the world are visible not just through their quality graduates but as knowledge creators and technology developers.

If there are malpractices in sports, part of the solution lies in the organisations themselves taking a very strong view and cleaning up the mess from within.

Governments getting involved in sports activities would ultimately damage sports.

Sports can't be run by governments.

The judiciary is entitled to finally resolve a dispute. Not every decision is right.

You may dislike what somebody else has said; that is perfectly valid. You may not agree with what somebody else has said. But saying something cannot possibly amount to sedition.

All of us have a romantic streak in us. That's why we are fallible, aren't we?

The media can allege corruption, but if I do the same against the media, I am gagging freedom of expression.

No one can end it, but incidents of corruption can be reduced.

Corruption is in society and in every strata of society.

Corruption is everywhere. It's not just in the Congress. Corruption is not just your prerogative or mine.

Appointments to the higher judiciary must be through transparent processes, which ensure that persons of impeccable integrity and high competence are appointed to these positions.

I have never applied for a share in Tehelka.

Modi may be rich in politics but is poor at heart.

We do not want to interfere with the freedom of press.

I believe a true Hindu in India could never have endorsed the killing of the Mahatma.

Every child should get an opportunity to study irrespective of the economic status.