Terror has no Basis in Any Religion, Says Venkaiah Naidu

New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday that terrorism has no basis in any religion of the world and called for concerted action by all countries to deal with the menace.

He said the biggest challenge to the world order is terrorism.

"Unfortunately, some people are clothing terror in the garb of religion but, in fact, terrorism has no basis in any religion of the world and is being misused by people," Naidu said while delivering a valedictory address at the first PIO Parliamentary Conference in New Delhi.

He said it was imperative to combat the "disruptive" forces of terrorism that were impeding development and all countries must recognise it as a threat to humanity and take concerted action to curb it.

Without taking Pakistan's name, Naidu said some countries believe in aiding, abetting and funding terrorism.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unscheduled visit to Pakistan in 2015, Naidu said New Delhi had taken steps to normalise ties with Islamabad but that did not yielded any results.

Referring to controversial comments made by some political leaders, Naidu said the country disapproves of it.

"Some people may talk out of turn but that should not be seen as a collective will of the people. That is not the line of India. This country and land do not tolerate such statements," he said.

Addressing the PIO lawmakers from 24 countries, Naidu said India recognises the strategic partnership with the diaspora.

He said India has the second largest diaspora in the world estimated at over 31 million spread across the globe whose ancestral roots can be traced to traders, indentured labourers, political deportees, business entrepreneurs among others.

"Far away from their homes, our brothers and sisters underwent a prolonged period of trial and tribulations, indignities and physical and mental sufferings. Long journeys in ships were extremely difficult and painful. Despite all these suffering and challenges, the evolution of the diaspora is remarkable," he said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the PIO- Parliamentary Conference has broken ground in further diversifying the engagement with the Indian diaspora and this will help open new vistas of establishing regular dialogues and exchanges of visits and views with PIO lawmakers.

"Though we profess different religions, colour of our passports are also different, our ancestors came from different regions and our mother tongue and practises are also different. Yet, we are Indians are heart (Phir bhi Dil hain Hindustani).