Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his ‘dimagi naxal’ remark, saying, “I am proud to be a dimagi naxal.”
Chidambaram’s comments came a day after Modi warned against ‘dimagi naxals’ who, he alleged, had entrenched themselves in the system and continued to pose a threat to society by influencing policies. The Prime Minister urged citizens to “identify and isolate” them.
Speaking from the Red Fort on the occasion of India’s 80th Independence Day, Modi said the country had succeeded in eliminating armed Naxalism from the forests but warned that those supporting its ideology were looking for opportunities to promote violence and anarchy.
Responding to the remarks, Chidambaram wrote on X: “I am proud to be a dimagi naxal!”
Modi said people with a Maoist mindset had, for years, established themselves in the corridors of power, serving as advisers on government committees and influencing public policy.
He cautioned against underestimating the challenge and called for greater vigilance.
The Prime Minister also said decades of Naxalism and Maoist violence had destroyed the lives and aspirations of millions of young people. He claimed that more than 3,500 police and security personnel had been killed in the conflict, a toll he said was higher than the number of soldiers killed during wars.
Modi said Naxalism had once held large parts of India and a substantial population in its grip through violence.
He added that his government, which came to power in 2014, had made ending Naxalism a priority.
“Decades-old challenges must be brought to an end,” Modi said, asserting that Naxalism and Maoism had destroyed the future of millions of young people, taken the lives of countless sons and devastated families.
He said Naxalite and Maoist violence was now being brought to an end, with development and the national flag replacing violence and bloodshed in areas once affected by insurgency.
(With inputs from PTI)