New Delhi [India], August 4 (ANI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday emphasised the role of socio-economic factors in breeding extremism and terrorism.

According to Raut, hunger, poverty, and unemployment are the root causes of individuals turning to crime. He asserted that governments are responsible for creating an environment that fosters such behaviour.

'As long as there is hunger in a country, devils will be born... Monsters are born out of hunger and unemployment... A person becomes a thief due to hunger and the need for survival... In the world, wherever there is hunger and poverty, people have taken up arms. They can either be called terrorists, Naxalites, Maoists and any other names based on religion... It is there in our country, Syria, Russia, and most in Pakistan. It is the government that creates monsters...,' said Raut.

The remarks came amid the debate over the term 'saffron terror', which continues after the verdict in the Malegaon blasts case, with the court saying that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

He claimed that poor people are often exploited in the name of religion, leading to the creation of 'monsters' like Ajmal Kasab, the perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Raut suggested that if Pakistan had provided education and taken steps against poverty, Kasab might not have become a terrorist and emphasised that governments are responsible for addressing these socioeconomic issues to prevent the rise of extremism.

'Kasab would not have been born in Pakistan if there had been education and if steps had been taken against poverty. Poor people are exploited in the name of religion, and monsters are born. Kasab is one of them. There are more such people here, too...,' added the Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member. (ANI)