‘Proud to be a dimagi naxal’: P Chidambaram hits back at PM Modi

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. Chidambaram posted this on X a day after 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. Modi urged people to ‘identify and isolate’ such individuals, claiming they sought to promote violence and drag the country wrong. In his address, Modi stated his government had made ending Naxalism a priority since 2014, noting decades of Maoist violence had destroyed the dreams of many young people and resulted in over 3,500 security personnel deaths. He also alleged that Maoist thinking had influenced government committees and policymaking for years. Congress responded sharply, with general secretary Jairam Ramesh accusing Modi of reviving the ‘urban naxal’ label to target political opponents. Ramesh argued the government had previously dismissed demands linked to this label before later adopting them, such as the caste census. The broader Opposition also criticized Modi’s remarks. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby accused the government of using the ‘Naxal mentality’ label to target critics, while TMC leader Saket Gokhale called Modi’s Independence Day comments ‘cheap shots.’ Meanwhile, Modi declared armed Naxalism was nearly defeated but warned that ideological Naxalism remained a threat, emphasizing the need to address ‘dimagi naxal’ individuals who could still incite violence.