They said it in November

"I pity Manmohan Singhji. Mr. Clean has now become Mr. Clean Chit." -- BJP President L.K. Advani on prime minister Manmohan Singh’s statement on the Volcker Report (November 11)

"Iran has a regime wedded to violence and a society eager for peaceful change. The West must address both." -- Timothy Garton Ash in The Guardian (November 12)

"We are planning to use the tool of love to ensure that adults are transparent in their activities. Will it work? Will you listen to your children?" -- President Abdul Kalam on fighting corruption through children (November 21)

"Whether Asia will take its place in the world as (Jawaharlal) Nehru wanted depends on how India and China work together as they rise and actively set out to avoid ending up in opposing camps." -- Singapore’s minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew delivering the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture (November 21)

"In India, clearly more on the education and health fronts is needed. This would involve a strong and robust alliance with the private sector." -- Kemal Dervise, head of the United Nations Development Programme in Business India (November 21)

"The myth that elections would not be fair and free in Bihar was exploded this time. We will explode the other myth that Bihar is non-governable by providing good governance." -- Nitish Kumar, new chief minister of Bihar after leading the JDU-BJP alliance to a landslide victory (November 22)

"The truth is that the injustice of extraordinary wealth alongside desperate poverty is no museum piece. It is live and present in 21st century Britain." -- Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian (November 25)

"Our founding fathers had a great opportunity, perhaps, to create a common school system. It did not happen. So today we have great schools for the economically sufficient and poor schools for the poor. Can we do something now to set this right?" -- Rohini Nilekani, promoter trustee of Akshara Foundation, in The Economic Times (November 28)