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Better infrastructure can prevent Gorakhpur-like incidents, says Arun Jaitley
Speaking at a programme aiming to build a ‘new India’ by 2022, he said the government wanted to spend funds on defence, infrastructure and rural development.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said the country needed to upgrade its infrastructure to prevent a repeat of ‘shameful incidents’ such as the Gorakhpur tragedy in new India.
Speaking at a programme aiming to build a ‘new India’ by 2022, he said the government wanted to spend funds on defence, infrastructure and rural development.
“We should have world-class public institutions so that shameful incidents such as the Gorakhpur tragedy do not recur,” he said. More than 100 children died owing to alleged medical negligence at a government hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur. After the tragedy, the UP government has come under a scathing attack from Opposition parties.
The event, New India Pledge, was organised by Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also attended it.
Jaitley maintained that demonetisation had starved separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoists of funding.
“Before demonetisation, thousands of stone pelters used to gather on the streets of Kashmir . Now not even 25 gather for such agitations,” he said.
“After demonetisation, separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoists in states such as Chhattisgarh have become fund starved,” he added.
Lauding security forces for dominating terrorists in Kashmir, Jaitley said that the Centre’s stand was clear that militancy must end in Kashmir. He said the cross-border support to terrorists had undermined the dialogue process.
He also said that protests in Kashmir were held to help terrorists escape. The finance minister also said the Modi government was not satisfied with the 7.5 per cent GDP growth rate. To accelerate it, the government would continue to take tough decisions, he added.
(with agency inputs)
