New Delhi, July 15 - The government made it clear Wednesday that it did not favour non-state players tackling the Maoist menace as the effort was best left to the administration of the area where the scourge existed.

The government view, articulated in the Rajya Sabha by Home Minister P. Chidambaram, was clearly aimed at the Chhattisgarh government whose state-funded, anti-Maoist Salwa Judum militia has been widely criticized for its human rights violations.

'I am not in favour of non-state elements taking on the Naxalites (Maoists). We want the state to take them on,' Chidambaram said during the question hour.

Replying to a supplementary, the minister said: 'I was asked a specific question about Salwa Judum and I have given a specific reply. I am not in favour of any non-state players taking on extremism.'

'The chief minister (of Chhattisgarh Raman Singh) now more or less accepts my line,' Chidambaram added.

The home minister admitted that the central and state governments had been tardy in tackling the challenge posed by Leftwing extremism.