Raipur: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on September 23 said that the Centre is ready to talk with naxalites provided they stop violence.

"The Centre is ready to talk with any naxalite outfit about the problems faced by them provided they stop violence," Advani told reporters at the Mana airport.

Special attention was given to naxalite problem after he took over charge as the Home Minister and in a high-level meeting of the naxal-infested states held at Hyderabad, it was felt that there should be co- ordinated efforts to tackle the menace, Advani said.

"The way terrorism itself is treated as a problem, similarly the violence by the naxalites is a separate problem to which attention is given and action initiated accordingly," he added.

The Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and the Director General of Police of naxal-infested states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa attended the Hyderabad meeting in which it was also decided to have a co-ordination committee headed by Union Home Secretary, he said.

This committee meets every three months to analyse the problems, its state and what should be done other than treating it as a simple law and order problem, Advani added.

PTI