A political war of words has erupted over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “dimagi Naxal” remark, with BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi hitting back at senior Congress leader P Chidambaram. Trivedi questioned Chidambaram's response after the former Union minister said he was “proud to be a dimagi Naxal”.
The BJP leader invoked former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 2006 description of Naxalism as the country's biggest internal security challenge and asked Congress whether it agreed with Singh's assessment or Chidambaram's latest remark.
How the ‘dimagi Naxal’ row began
In his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government had succeeded in eliminating armed Naxals from forests but warned that “dimagi Naxals” continued to exist. Modi alleged that people with a Maoist mindset had earlier entrenched themselves in positions of influence, including government committees and policy-making processes. He urged citizens to identify and isolate what he described as this ideological threat.
The remark triggered a political controversy, with Chidambaram responding on social media the following day: “I am proud to be a dimagi naxal!”
Sudhanshu Trivedi questions Chidambaram's response
Speaking at a BJP press conference, Sudhanshu Trivedi said the party was surprised that Chidambaram had responded within 24 hours to Modi's Independence Day remarks. Trivedi said Chidambaram had effectively identified himself with the term used by Modi and asked Congress to clarify whether it considered former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assessment of Naxalism correct or Chidambaram's latest position. The BJP spokesperson recalled Singh's statement from April 13, 2006, when the then prime minister had described Naxalism as the “single biggest internal security challenge” faced by the country.
BJP cites UPA-era Naxal violence
Trivedi also attacked the Congress-led UPA government's record on Naxalism. He claimed that during the UPA period, Naxalism had spread across a large number of districts and referred to the 2010 Dantewada attack in which a large number of CRPF personnel were killed. He also cited figures relating to civilian and security personnel deaths during the period and argued that the scale of the Naxal problem had been far greater under previous governments.
These figures and allegations formed part of Trivedi's political criticism of the Congress and were not independently established in his remarks.
Trivedi contrasts past Naxal situation with current government
Trivedi said the Narendra Modi government had succeeded in reducing the geographical spread of Naxalism and argued that areas earlier affected by the insurgency had now been brought out of the Naxal-affected category. He contrasted the current situation with what he described as the “Red Corridor” during the UPA era. The BJP leader also referred to past statements attributed to Maoist leaders about expanding their influence towards Delhi and argued that the reduction in Naxal-affected areas demonstrated the government's success in tackling armed Naxalism.
Chidambaram had called ‘dimagi Naxals’ a new BJP label
Chidambaram, in his response to Modi, had described “dimagi Naxals” as a new version of terms previously used by the BJP, including “urban Naxals”, “Andolanjeevi” and “tukde tukde gang”. He argued that such labels had historically been used against members of the Opposition.
The exchange has now widened into a debate over the Congress and BJP's respective records and positions on Naxalism, with the BJP using Chidambaram's remark to question the Congress's stance and Chidambaram framing Modi's terminology as political labelling.
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