New Delhi, Jul 30 (IANS): National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said on Saturday that some elements creating conflict in the name of religion and ideology, which is hindering the country's progress.

Speaking during an event here, he said, "There is an atmosphere of conflict in the world, and if we have to deal with it then it is necessary to maintain the unity of the country. The way India is progressing, people of all religions will get benefited from it."

In the same event, Chairman of All India Sufi Sajjada Nasheen Council (AISSC) Hazrat Syed Naseruddin Chishty said, "We condemn when an incident occurs. It's time to do something. There is a need to rein in and ban radical organisations. They should be banned if there is evidence against them."

The event was part of Modi government's outreach programme to ensure religious harmony in the country. Apart from religious leaders of different religions, Sufi saints also participated in the event.

The initiative comes at a time when there is religious discord in the country in the wake of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks on the Prophet and the extreme reactions from a section of Sufi Barelvi Muslim community.

Sharma was suspended by the BJP after some west Asian countries lodged protest against her remarks. However, despite protests broke out in different parts of the country with reports of violence in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The controversy took a more serious turn when Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Udaipur, Rajasthan, was beheaded in an Islamic State-style assassination act by two Muslim men who filmed the murder and threatened to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both the killers along with their accomplices are in the custody of NIA.

Another ISIS-style murder took place in Maharashtra's Amravati, where a pharmacist named Umesh Kolhe was stabbed to death. NIA is also probing the murder.