Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday accused the Congress of “turning into a Maoist party” amid a political row over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to “dimagi Naxals” in his Independence Day address.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on Independence Day, Modi said that while armed Naxals operating in forests had largely been eliminated, “dimagi Naxals” remained in different parts of the country and needed to be “identified and isolated”.
The remarks drew criticism from opposition leaders, with Congress MP P Chidambaram saying on X that he was “proud to be a dimagi naxal”.
Speaking to ANI, Rijiju said Modi’s remarks were not directed at any particular opposition party, but claimed that Congress leaders had assumed they were being targeted.
Rijiju alleged that the National Advisory Council during the Congress-led government under Sonia Gandhi had been “dominated” by people holding such ideologies and claimed that the Congress now appeared to be moving towards Maoism.
He described “ideological Naxalism” as including separatist tendencies and support for positions such as the restoration of Article 370 or demands for the separation of the Northeast from the rest of India.
“The Congress party has transformed itself into a Maoist and Naxalite entity,” Rijiju said, adding that the party had already become “akin to the Muslim League” and was now moving towards becoming a “Maoist party”.
The Union Minister also said Modi’s remarks echoed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assessment of Naxalism as a major threat to India’s internal security.
Rijiju cited Singh’s 2006 statement that Naxalism was the country’s “single biggest internal security challenge” and demanded that the Congress apologise to Singh’s family for criticising Modi’s remarks.
Rijiju further alleged that those he described as “dimagi Naxals” showed no empathy for security personnel killed in encounters with Naxalites and instead celebrated their deaths.
The Congress and Chidambaram, however, have rejected the term as a political insult, arguing that “dimagi Naxal” is another label being used by the BJP against its political opponents, following earlier terms such as “urban Naxal”, “Andolanjeevi” and “tukde-tukde gang”.
(With inputs from PTI)
