Updated on Friday, November 21, 2008, 00:00 IST

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi, Nov 21: BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and Leader of Opposition Lal Krishna Advani on Friday denounced all sorts of terrorism to the core saying that a terrorist has no religion.

Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here, Advani said, “It is wrong to brand a person as a Hindu, Muslim or Sikh terrorist.” On being asked about his comments defending Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Advani said, “I met NSA today and have spoken to PM clarifying my views about the case.”

Talking about the recent economic slowdown in the country, Advani said that India is passing through its worst financial times. He added that, “The current economic crisis is the biggest since World War. All sectors of economy are under immense pressure as banks are not lending money to industries as well as among themselves but small and medium enterprises are the worst hit.”

Advani asserted that employment has suffered drastically and lakhs of people have lost their jobs, clearly indicating towards the recent retrenchment drive by various private sector companies. He said that, “corrective measures should be taken to deal with the slowdown as loan waivers are no solution to farmers’ suicide.”

Showing his concern over the crisis, Advani said, “Crisis of confidence could erode India’s economic gains.

Advani accused UPA government for this economic turmoil saying that its flawed policies have led to rise in inflation. He said, “It is sheer escapism to attribute economic woes to global slowdown. The UPA government is in a denial mode over the crisis.” He also said that, “the current government has left the land barren for the next government.”

Critically attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Advani said, “There is no fear of PM within the UPA government as he has become a passive observer. PM has ignored high levels of corruption.” He added that, “India cannot afford a weak government with a failed leadership.” He cited agriculture, security and inflation as the main challenges that the country is facing today. He also accused that government never consulted the opposition on important issues.

Comparing UPA government with the NDA rule, Advani said, “Country needs NDA government as it took strict measures to tackle issues. NDA was responsible for the development of infrastructure and telecommunication.” He went on to add that the future NDA governments will have a different economic policy and will take stringent action to tackle economic crisis.”