NEW DELHI: Former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “dimagi naxal” remarks, saying he was “proud” to be described by the term.“I am proud to be a dimagi naxal!” Chidambaram said in a post on X, a day after PM Modi, in his 80th Independence Day address from the Red Fort, warned that although armed Naxalism was nearing its end, people with an ideological Naxal mindset continued to pose a threat.PM Modi had urged people to “identify and isolate” such individuals, saying they were looking for opportunities to promote violence and unrest and “drag the country on the wrong path”.The Prime Minister said his government had made ending Naxalism a priority after coming to power in 2014. He said decades of Maoist violence had destroyed the lives and aspirations of young people and claimed that more than 3,500 security personnel had been killed in the conflict.“Naxalism, Maoism destroyed the dreams of lakhs of youth. It stole the sons of numerous mothers, crushed the dreams of numerous mothers,” PM Modi said in his Independence Day address.He also alleged that people with a Maoist mindset had earlier occupied positions of influence in government committees and policymaking.“For years, people with Maoist thinking were there in public life, even in government committees this thinking had affected various institutions and initiatives,” PM Modi said, before calling for the “dimagi naxal” to be identified and isolated.
Congress attacks PM Modi’s ‘dimagi naxal’ remark
Chidambaram’s response came a day after Congress had already attacked PM Modi over the remarks.Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the Prime Minister of reviving the “urban naxal” label to target political opponents. He argued that the government had previously used the term despite Union home minister Amit Shah clarifying in Parliament that there was no official definition of “urban Naxal”.Ramesh also alleged that the government eventually adopted some of the issues raised by people it had labelled “urban Naxals”. He cited the caste census as an example, saying the idea had earlier been dismissed as reflecting “urban Naxal” thinking before the government announced a caste-based census.“First, you make derogatory remarks–calling them ‘Urban Naxals’ or ‘Mental Naxals’–but later, you accept the very demands your political opponents were making,” Ramesh said, according to news agency ANI.The Congress leader had also earlier called PM Modi a “master abuser” in “Entire Political Science” while reacting to his use of the “urban naxal” and “dimagi naxal” labels.The broader Opposition has also criticised PM Modi’s remarks. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby said his party opposed Naxalism but accused the government of using the “Naxal mentality” label to target political opponents.CPI general secretary D Raja described “dimagi naxal” as an attempt to stigmatise dissent.TMC leader Saket Gokhale similarly accused PM Modi of using the Independence Day platform to take “cheap shots” at his critics.
PM Modi says armed Naxalism ‘breathing its last’
PM Modi’s remarks came as he declared that the government had made substantial progress in tackling armed Naxalism.He said Naxalism had kept large parts of the country and its population “hostage” for decades and had resulted in the deaths of thousands of security personnel.
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“In 2014, when you gave us the opportunity we had decided that we will rid the country of naxalism, and today I am happy to announce that naxalism does not have even the strength for breathing,” PM Modi said.At the same time, he cautioned that the end of armed insurgency did not mean the ideological challenge had disappeared.“Even if these naxals are gone, but the ‘dimagi naxal’ (people with naxal thinking), are looking for an opportunity, looking to see ways of violence, and trying to drag the country to a wrong path,” PM Modi said.He linked the issue to his broader call for young people to contribute to the government’s vision of a developed India by 2047, arguing that remote areas once affected by Naxal violence were now seeing development.
