'Proud To Be Dimagi Naxal': P Chidambaram Hits Back at PM Modi's Red Fort Remark

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday took a sharp swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Independence Day call to identify and isolate those with a "dimagi naxal" mindset, declaring, "I am proud to be a dimagi naxal." Chidambaram's remarks came after PM Modi, in his Red Fort address, called for the elimination of Naxal ideology from the country.

In a post on X, Chidambaram took a jibe at the Prime Minister a day after his 80th Independence Day address from the Red Fort, where he urged people and authorities to "identify and isolate" those with a "dimagi naxal" (ideological Naxal) mindset.

"I am proud to be a dimagi naxal !," he wrote on X.

What did PM Modi say?

On Saturday, PM Modi said government action since 2014 has largely ended the jungle insurgency that claimed over 3,500 security personnel. But he alleged people with a "Maoist mentality" earlier held positions in government committees and influenced policy. Linking the call to the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, the Prime Minister said the focus must be on keeping youth aligned with nation-building and warned that an ideological Naxal mindset still exists in institutions despite armed Maoist violence "breathing its last".

Congress slammed Prime Minister Modi following his remarks, dismissing his warnings against "dimagi naxals" as hollow political rhetoric while fiercely defending its historical legacy regarding India's national song, Vande Mataram.

Reacting to PM Modi's call to identify and isolate "dimagi naxals" who threaten the country's progress, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that the term carries no real substance, drawing a parallel to previous debates surrounding the phrase "urban naxal."

"Two or three years ago, he (PM Modi) called his political opponents 'Urban Naxals'; at that time, the question arose in Parliament as to what the definition of 'Urban Naxal' was. The Home Minister replied that there is no such thing as an 'Urban Naxal,' nor is there any definition for it. Today, the Prime Minister is using the term 'Mental Naxal' (ideological Naxal) for his political opponents from the Red Fort," Jairam Ramesh said.

Ramesh argued that the central government routinely vilifies its critics before eventually adopting the very policies they advocate.