Vande Mataram India TV Conclave on countering terrorism: As it happened

The impact that terror has had on nations across continents has been big and India has been among the worst hit. One of the biggest victims of the menace of terror, India continues to battle terror on many fronts in Jammu and Kashmir even 70 years post-independence. With a view to arrive at a solution on ways to counter terrorism, top minds across the political and social spectrum today got together at the nation's leading news channel India TV's mega conclave, 'Vande Mataram'. 

Led by Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma, India TV's team of premier journalists focussed on a solution-based approach to create an environment for broad spectrum consensus on how the issue can be tackled with optimal effectiveness. The guest list included Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev, among others. 

Here are the HIGHLIGHTS:

Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister

# I want to appeal to all Indians to contribute to 'Bharat Ke Veer': Rajnath Singh

# India is not weak anymore, India is now strong: Rajnath Singh on action against Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar

# For the first time we have taken concrete steps against terror funding: Rajnath Singh

# No one should be under the impression that J&K govt is not contributing to fight terrorism: Rajnath Singh

# J&K CM has never tried to derail our fight against terrorism: Rajnath Singh

# Jammu and Kashmir government has been very cooperative in fight against terrorism: Rajnath Singh

# We are confident that Muslims of India will never let ISIS gain influence in the country: Rajnath Singh

# Do not compare the Muslims of India to the Muslims of rest of the world: Rajnath Singh

# ISIS can not gain foothold in India: Rajnath Singh

# The influence of ISIS in India has been very limited as compared to other countries: Rajnath Singh

# I cannot say that I will resolve the problem within few months, but the efforts are on: Rajnath Singh

# We are committed to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits: Rajnath Singh

# The efforts to bring Kashmiri pandits back to Kashmir are on: Rajnath Singh

# Paramilitary forces are doing their best to counter Naxalism: Rajnath Singh

# Naxalism is now limited to only 6-7 districts of the country: Rajnath Singh

# Operations against Naxalism are led by state governments, Centre only provides help: Rajnath Singh

# State governments have taken effective action against Naxalism with help from Centre: Rajnath Singh

# PM Modi has broken the protocol and even went to Pakistan to extend a friendly hand: Rajnath Singh

# India is trying its best to root friendly relations with the rest of the countries: Rajnath Singh

# If Pakistan assures action against terrorists, the path of talk is open: Rajnath Singh

# Talks between India and Pakistan have stopped completely: Rajnath Singh

# Whatever cautions have to be taken in Indo-Pak trade, we have taken: Rajnath Singh

# My door is always open, we have never closed the path of talk: Rajnath Singh

# I never said no to a meeting: Rajnath Singh   

# Whenever I visited Kashmir, I have open invitation to all: Rajnath Singh   

# Terrorism has no religion and we will secure support of all people in the fight against the menace: Rajnath Singh   

# There are forces in Kashmir, sponsored by Pakistan, that instigate youth to adopt wrong path: Rajnath Singh   

# We will find a permanent solution to Kashmir problem and all steps that we have taken are in that direction: Rajnath Singh   

# Cyber terrorism is also a big challenge for us but we are effectively fighting against that: Rajnath Singh   

# Besides terrorism and Naxalism, the third biggest challenge is armed insurgency in North East. But we have achieved great success against that too: Rajnath Singh   

# We have achieved great success against Naxalism in last three years: Rajnath Singh   

# I want to congratulate our armed forces on their success against terrorims: Rajnath Singh   

# I assure my countrymen that we will eradicate terrorism from our country: Rajnath Singh   

# The world is watching how strongly we are acting against terrorism: Rajnath Singh  

# Terrorism did not originate in India, terrorism in our country is sponsored by Pakistan: Rajnath Singh  

# We have 15,000 km land boundary and over 7,000 km coast line: Rajnath Singh   

# Pakistan and China borders are strategic and very sensitive: Rajnath Singh  

Panel debate: Sambit Patra (BJP), Shabnam Lone (SC Lawyer), Abhijeet (Singer)

# Sambit Patra quotes Bhagat Singh to say that youths of the country don't need drinks. What they need is knowledge, he added.

# Abhijeet demands three-day holiday to celebrate Independence Day.

# I had asked for throwing out Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from India at the beginning of my career. Nobody supported me at that my: Abhijeet

# Supreme Court cannot repeal Article 35A: Shabnam Lone

# Article 370 was a core issue for BJP and will always remain so: Sambit Patra

# Article 35A is discriminatory, did not follow parliamentary procedures: Sambit Patra

# I am an Indian but I don't have sense of belongingness, says Shabnam Lone

# Situation is so bad in Kashmir, normalcy will never retuen to the state: Shabnam Lone

# I don't care for Zakir Musa, let him go to hell: Shabnam Lone

# Is BJP, RSS responsible for what is happening in Syria? No, it's radical Islam: Sambit Patra

# you kicked out Kashmiri pandits from Kashmir: Shabnam Lone

# We tried to improve relations with Pakistan, we gave 70,000 crore package to Kashmir: Sambit Patra

# You should try to win the hearts of Kashmiris: Sambit Patra

# Hurriyat does not represent Kashmiris: Shabnam Lone

# Nobody in Kashmir wants to live with India, claims Shabnam Lone

# Violence will never solve Kashmir problem: Shabnam Lone

# If referendum takes place, I will never opt for Pakistan: Shabnam Lone

# Terrorism is a global phenomena today, says Shabnam Lone

# It's good that more and more terrorists are being killed, it's good that stone pelters are being tied to Army jeeps, we needed such government: Abhijeet

# BJP will not allow Kashmir to secede from India: Sambit Patra

# Please note that terrorists are being continuously killed in Kashmir. So, it does not matter who is saying what: Sambit Patra

# BJP formed govt in alliance with PDP because of the nature of mandate: Sambit Patra

# In terms of ideology, BJP and PDP are poles apart: Sambit Patra

# We would not like to be with India, if Kashmiris are insulted: Shabnam Lone

# Sambit Patra called Kashmiris "shameless", I will not tolerate that: Shabnam Lone

# 130 terrorists have been killed since January this year; Sambit Patra

# Those who are crying for independence should know that the day India stops sending money to Kashmir, they will be in trouble as Pakistan, being a beggar country, can't give them anything: Sambit Patra

# I never demanded independence from India but you have to function in accordance with Constitution: Shabnam Lone

# I don't know Abu Dujana: Shabnam Lone

# Kashmir is not like any other state in India, there is a problem persisting for last 70 years: Shabnam Lone

# I support BJP because it is the only party which supports Hindus: Abhijeet

# Where are Kashmiri pandits today, asks Abhijeet

# Burhan ho ya Dujana, Marenge ek rozana, says Sambit Patra

# NIA should investigate independently, says Shabnam Lone

# BJP can go to any extent to stay in power in Kashmir, says Shabnam Lone

# Burhan Wani was not a terrorist, says Shabnam Lone

# Wahabbism has been deliberately spread in Kashmir: Sambit Patra

# Govt will take care of those who are dancing to the tunes of Pakistan, we'll also handle Pakistani moles in this country: Sambit Patra

# The problem in Kashmir is radicalism, says Sambit Patra

# Hurriyat leader Geelani is like a father-figure for me: Shabnam Lone

# Hurriyat is an offshoot of sentiments in Kashmir. Why no Hurriyat leader been arrested? Why are they roaming free despite claims of crores of rupees being recovered from them: Shabnam Lone

Baba Ramdev

# I sell products but not the country: Baba Ramdev

# It is the responsibility of responsible people to prevent youth from falling into trap of violent ideology of terrorism: Baba Ramdev

# No religion propagates terrorism but some followers of a religion may propagate violence: Baba Ramdev

# Govt is capable of doing anything, Pakistani terrorists will be brought to India, dead or alive: Baba Ramdev

# This government is very powerful, Modi ji will do something about Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Saeed before 2019: Baba Ramdev

# Modi ji has a track record of fulfilling his commitment and I believe he will fulfil all his promises: Baba Ramdev

# We have the strongest Prime Minister in our history, if it doesn't happen now when it will: Baba Ramdev

#  The time has come for "One country, one Constitution": Baba Ramdev

# Hope Finance Minister listens and form some policies to counter China on economic fronts: Baba Ramdev

# I do not use imported products: Baba Ramdev

# We Indians think foreign brands are better and Chinese products are cheaper: Baba Ramdev

# We have huge human resources, we can take India to the top: Baba Ramdev

# We are ready to counter China on every front but boycott is the better weapon than the arms: Baba Ramdev

# Even the idols of our gods are imported from China: Baba Ramdev

# As Indians, we should boycott Chinese products for the reason it supports Pakistan: Baba Ramdev

# Supporting terrorists is also terrorism. China is helping Pakistan to spread terrorism: Baba Ramdev

# Children must be taught good things about all the religions. It will bring harmony among religions: Baba Ramdev

# I believe yoga can cure the thought process of those creating menace in the Valley: Baba Ramdev 

# If everybody practices Yoga, there will be no terrorism: Baba Ramdev

# We need to break down the ideology that is motivating terror activities along the LoC: Baba Ramdev 

# Cow slaughter should not take place, neither should the violence in the name of cow protection: Baba Ramdev

# I think the time has come when we should live for the country and not for our respective communities: Baba Ramdev

# There are bad people in every community. People on higher positions should not discuss exceptions: Baba Ramdev

# I assure that the Muslims are the safest in this country: Baba Ramdev 

# May God give them wisdom: Baba Ramdev on Hamid Ansari 

# Vande Mataram means we will work for our motherland: Baba Ramdev

# We have been independent for 70 years but this independence can be preserved only when we are terrorism free: Baba Ramdev

# If we need war to bring peace, it should be done once and for all: Baba Ramdev

# We will break Pakistan into three parts, PoK will come into India and Balochistan will be free: Baba Ramdev

# No matter through a war, but PoK should be taken back from Pakistan: Baba Ramdev

# Nawaz Sharif has already been exposed, it high time we should teach Pakistan a lesson: Baba Ramdev

# A country like Pakistan has occupied a part of our country this should not be tolerated: Baba Ramdev

# Everything can not be solved by non-violence: Ramdev

# PoK should be brought back into India: Baba Ramdev

Kumar Vishwas, AAP leader

# I had congratulated PM Narendra Modi when he met jawans on the occasion of Diwali. But I will speak when attacks like Uri take place and the govt remains in idle mode: Kumar

# We should do away with giving unnecessary statements on Indian Army: Vishwas

# Congress insulted secularism, says Kumar Vishwas 

# Hindustan means 125 crore Hindustani. We should avoid fake nationalism: Kumar

Panel discussion: Manoj Tiwari (BJP), Sanjay Nirupam (Congress), Gen JJ Singh (Former Chief of Army Staff)

# It's important to attack intellectual terrorism as well: Manoj Tiwari

# No political leader should give any statement that can affect the morale of the Army: Gen JJ Singh

# It was wrong to give insulting statement against the Army Chief: Sanjay Nirupam

# I apologise for questioning veracity of "surgical strikes" if my statement hurt anybody. However, I want to make it clear that my statement was against the politicisation of "surgical strikes": Sanjay Nirupam

# We never share details of such operations but we made this public this time to inform people of Pakistan who are kept in dark by their rulers: Gen JJ Singh

# Not giving details of “surgical strikes” is part of our strategy: General JJ Singh

# Everybody has the right to disagree: Sanjay Nirupam

# Consensus and zero-tolerance are two different things, only one ideology should not be imposed on the country: Sanjay Nirupam

# If an Army jawan raises questions about the system, like poor food quality, then his voice should also be heard: Sanjay Nirupam

# Say whatever you want against government but don’t raise questions over Indian Army: Manoj Tiwari

# For creating consensus over "terrorism", people with  different ideologies should be made to sit together and asked to evolve a consensus: Sanjay Nirupam

# I don't agree with the demand that no question should be raised over Army: Sanjay Nirupam

# It's Indian Army that has stopped the Chinese in Doklam: Gen JJ Singh

# Indian Army is iron fist of the country and that's why should not speak against them: Gen JJ Singh

# I support Major Gogoi for tying a stone-pelter to Army jeep but the voice of human rights activists should also be heard: Sanjay Nirupam

# You are living a happy life because Indian Army is doing its job at the borders: Gen JJ Singh

# Indian Army is apolitical, secular and professional: Gen JJ Singh

# We believe that Army should break hands of those who dare to challenge them: Manoj Tiwari

#  We all should respect Indian Army:, Opposition indulged in politics over "surgical strikes", Manoj Tiwari

# PM Modi sought votes in the name "surgical strikes": Sanjay Nirupam

# Sanjay Nirupam defends his statement on “surgical strikes. The Congress leader says he had raised questions over politicisation of “surgical strikes” and not the Indian Army

Panel discussion: Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Sudhanshu Trivedi (BJP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena)

# Kashmir is an integral part. We believe in the concept of one nation, one constitution. Abolish Article 370, will handle every situation: Sawant 

# Abolishing Article 370 will result in losing Jammu and Kashmir, says Owaisi 

# Yashwant Sinha had visited the Valley and met separatists. He had in his report called for holding political dialogue to resolve the crisis: Tewari 

# Nehru parivar and Abdullah parivar responsible for Kashmir conflict: Sudhanshu Trivedi

# Your (BJP) decision to forge an alliance with the PDP was wrong: Tewari 

# ‘Improvements’ in PDP is visible… especially after it joined ranks with the BJP. It was an honest effort: Sudhanshu Trived

# Only Bhutan is with us, no country from South Asia is standing with us today: Manish Tewari 

# Owaisi questions government over Doklam standoff, calls for making neighbours back its stand. China constructing rail network in Nepal, giving submarine to Bangladesh.

# As far as Pak is concerned, it is necessary to establish both strategic and diplomatic ways. Government’s strategy is very clear ‘terror and talks can’t go together’: BJP’s 

# Sena leader Sawant calls for cutting down all ties with Pakistan. "The only way is to cut down all existing relations with Pakistan".

# When Atalji started Samjhauta Exp, our beloved leader late Balasaheb had opposed this move saying ‘terrorists will start arriving here’: Sawant 

“Why you opted for supersession in the Armed force. Why you appointed a third rank General as the Chief of Army Staff? I firmly say that the supersession was a wrong decision. In case of Lt Gen SK Sinha, you chose supersession which shouldn’t have taken place,” says Manish Tewari 

# Manish Tewari questions appointment of General Bipin Rawat as Indian Army Chief

# Manish Tewari questions government ‘why government not appointing a full-time defence minister?’

# Jammu and Kashmir CM had credited Pakistan and the terrorists for peaceful elections in the state in 2015: Sawant

# BJP-PDP alliance: BJP has clearly mentioned in the ‘agenda of governance’ that there won’t be any discussion on Article 35A, 370, says Tewari 

# Owaisi dares Gujarat government to begin daily hearing in Ishrat Jahan encounter case. 

# There was a difference in the saying of CBI and IB on Ishrat Jahan, says BJP's Trivedi

# Trivedi attacks Congress, says 'terrorism flourished when the most powerful party was in power'

# Their morale got boosted when they succeeded in throwing out of Kashmiri pandits: Sawant 

# If you seriously want to tackle terrorism, government should make intelligence accountable. Why successive governments have failed to do so? Owaisi 

# Manish Tewari bats for holding dialogue with Pakistan and Hurriyat leaders as well to eradicate terrorism from Valley. 

# Terrorism is a very sensitive issue. Time has come to strengthen our ways to fight terrorism: Manish Tewari

# ​Kashmir conflict is a strange case in itself because a powerful national had to approach the United Nations: Sudhanshu Trivedi

# Political unity, ideological clarity needed to counter terrorism, says BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi

Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Defence 

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