Social strife can deflect development: Jaitley

New Delhi, July 30 

Calling India a “haven of safety and security” despite past problems in Punjab and Kashmir, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today cautioned that any ‘social strife’ in the name of caste and religion could stir emotions and deflect the country from its developmental agenda.

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Delivering the first Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial Lecture at India Islamic Cultural Centre here, Jaitley said the resources need to be spent on poverty elimination and infrastructure development to become a developed society, rather than “lopsided expenditure only on security”. “The faster we become a safer... insurgency-free society, the better it is for us. Any form of social strife, I think in a race to become a developed society, we have to avoid...,” he said.

Terming these as policy diversions, Jaitley said “caste, language, religion, water, these are capable of throwing up emotions, which can actually deflect from a developmental agenda and strife can create, can prove very costly for society”.

The statement comes against the backdrop of incidents of attacks on Dalits in different parts of the country and recent incidents of violence in Kashmir.  — PTI