Congress hits back at PM over 'dimaagi Naxal' remark: Sure sign of desperation

Congress countered PM's 'dimaagi Naxal' remark, with Jairam Ramesh calling it a sign of 'desperation' and accusing the government of vilifying political opponents.

In Short

• PM warns against intellectual Naxals in Independence Day speech
• Congress hits back at PM's 'dimaagi Naxal' remark
• Jairam Ramesh calls it a sign of desperation, vilifying opponents

The Congress launched a sharp counterattack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'dimaagi Naxal' remark and his call to "identify and isolate" them, accusing him of using such labels to vilify political opponents. The party described the use of the term from the Red Fort on Independence Day as a "sure sign of desperation".

PM Modi, in his Independence Day address, warned against intellectual Naxals, or 'dimaagi Naxals', whom he alleged had entrenched themselves in country's system and continued to pose a threat to society by influencing policies and creating unrest. He urged citizens to "identify and isolate" them.

Responding to the remarks, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Modi had earlier labelled his political opponents as "Urban Naxals" and had now rephrased the term as "dimaagi Naxals". He also alleged that the government eventually accepted several of the issues raised by those it had branded as such.

"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 Naxa', nor is there any definition for it," Ramesh said.

"Today, the Prime Minister is using the term 'dimaagi Naxal' for his political opponents from the Red Fort," he added, terming it a "sure sign of his desperation."

Ramesh alleged that the government eventually accepted several of the issues and demands raised by those it had branded as "Urban Naxals".

"The reality is that he eventually accepts the issues and demands raised by the very people he labels as ‘Urban Naxals’. He had dismissed the idea of a caste census as ‘Urban Naxal’ thinking, yet a year ago, he announced a caste-based census," Ramesh said.

"First, you make derogatory remarks, calling them 'Urban Naxals' or 'Mental Naxals', but later, you accept the very demands your political opponents were making," he added.

In his 13th consecutive Independence Day address to the nation, Modi highlighted the government’s anti-Naxal operations and claimed that armed Naxalism had been largely eliminated. However, he warned that people with a Naxal mindset continued to pose a threat.

"We have succeeded in getting rid of armed Naxals in the jungles, but the 'dimaagi Naxals' are looking for opportunities to create violence, unrest. They want to drag the society on the wrong path," the Prime Minister said.

"These intellectual Naxals have to be identified and isolated," he added.

Modi also called for continued vigilance, stressing that the decline of armed insurgency did not mean that the underlying ideological challenge had disappeared.

- Ends