New Delhi, Apr 18 (IANS): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said the central government is trying to "build consensus" with the states over setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).

"We will try to build consensus. Consensus building is the only way forward. In a country as diverse as complex as ours, as I said yesterday, centre, states have to work together," the prime minister said at the sidelines of the defence investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"We are not on different sides. We are on the same side. Terrorism and extremism are vices but we have to combat together," he added.

The central government0 had called a meet of all chief ministers in the national capital on internal security Monday.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday sounded confident that the differences between non-Congress ruled states and the central government over setting up of an anti-terror hub will be resolved at the May 5 meeting of chief ministers.