New Delhi, April 15: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sent a clear message to insurgents and terrorists that violence would not win them rewards they were seeking and that the Central and the state governments will conduct an honest dialogue with any group that gives up violence.

In a conference of Chief Ministers to discuss internal security and law and order, he dwelt at length on his government�s approach to dealing with insurgency and left-wing extremism.

�.....Violence and use of force cannot win the rewards that insurgents and extremists seek.

Our governments will deal firmly with insurgency.

However, we are willing to conduct an honest and meaningful dialogue with any group that abjures the path of violence and is willing to engage in a dialogue,� he told the day-long meeting.

In the backdrop of criticism that the UPA coalition headed by him has been soft on tackling left-wing extremism and the Congress Govt in Andhra Pradesh initiating dialogue with Naxalites, Singh sought to make a distinction between insurgency and left-wing extremism and purely crime and law and order problems which he said security forces would deal with under law.

�Insurgency and extremism, on the other hand, have a political dimension that often requires the political management of a security situation.

We have time and again attempted this in the North East and in Naxalite-affected areas.

�The challenge of terrorism must be faced squarely and resolutely by all shades of political opinion.

There can be no political compromise with terror.

No inch conceded.

No compassion shown,� he said.

Singh told the Chief Ministers that the people of India have suffered a great deal at the hands of terrorists and �our government, and I am sure I speak for all the Chief Ministers, is resolute in its determination to wipe out this threat to a civilised and democratic way of life.

�There are no good terrorists or bad terrorists.

There is no cause, no root or branch, that can ever justify the killing of innocent people.

No democratic Government can tolerate the use of violence against innocent people and against the functionaries of a duly-established democratic Government�.

The Prime Minister said extremism was not merely law and order issue and its growth could be linked to development or the lack of it and also to complex issues like language, ethnicity, caste or religion or cultural rights.

�Whatever be the cause, it is difficult to deny that extremism to has huge societal costs.

Investments are unlikely to fructify, employment is not likely to grow and educational facilities may be impaired,� he said.

Maintaining that talks and negotiations should always be welcomed, Singh said �I have repeatedly stressed that we are ready to talk to any group that abjures violence�.

The basic issues regarding violence and the State�s obligations to curb it should be clarified at the outset so that there were no misunderstandings or a feeling of let down at later stages, he said.

The Prime Minister said nothing should be done which detracts from the authority of the Indian State and its primary role as an upholder of public order.

�The State should not even remotely be seen to back away in the face of threats of armed violence.

We need to be firm, but not transgress the limits of human rights of dignity.

�We must prevent our society from being brutalised.

However, legitimate needs and aspirations, even if set out in procedurally or presentationally inappropriate terms, should be examined with care and sympathy because we are dealing after all, our own people, even though they may have strayed away from the path of rectitude.

Referring to the North East, the Prime Minister said the region was ripe for accelerated and economic development provide peace and security could be ensured.

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