Govt firm in fighting terror, extremism: PM

New Delhi, Aug 15: Rejecting the charge that the UPA government was soft on terrorism and extremism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said such evils would be dealt with sternly.

''Let there be no doubt in anyone's mind that the Government is firm in its resolve to fight all forms of extremism and terrorism,'' Dr Singh said in his address to the nation today.

His remarks come just a day after the RJD and the Left, allies of the UPA, had demanded in the Lok Sabha the dismissal of the Congress government in Assam for being hand-in-glove with ULFA militants and charged Dr Singh with paying mere lip sympathy for the state which he represented in the Rajya Sabha.

Those who professed hatred and extremist, those who spread the virus of communalism and those who believed in violence and terrorism had ''no place in our society.

''We must all fight these anti-democratic, anti-social and anti-national forces, each in our own way, in our daily lives,'' the Prime Minister said.

UNI