NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said "wrong methods" should not be used while combating terrorism and stressed that profiling of communities could lead to a major polarisation of society.
Discussing how terrorism was the biggest scourge in the world, the prime minister said there could be no compromise with terrorism; terrorists needed to be dealt with firmly.
“At the same time it is important that in trying to counter terrorism wrong methods and means are not adopted. Any impression that any community, or sections amongst them, are being targeted or that some kind of profiling is being attempted should be avoided,” he said in his opening remarks at the National Integration Council.
“The means are as important as the ends. This is vital, as otherwise it could lead to a major polarisation of society.”
Manmohan Singh's remarks assume significance as top Muslim clerics are expected to be among thousands of religious leaders who will congregate in Delhi on Tuesday to discuss why elements in the community were being alienated and targeted in the fight against terror.
It will be the second time in about four decades that a meeting of this proportion attracting clerics, scholars and religious leaders will take place. A similar meeting took place in Lucknow in 1972.
