‘Proud To Be Dimagi Naxal’: P Chidambaram Hits Back At PM Modi Amid I-Day Speech Row

Se io
Co g ess
leade
P
Chidamba am
o
Su day
hit
back
at
P ime
Mi iste
Na e d a
Modi
ove
his
ema ks
o
people
with
a
“Maoist
me tality”,
sayi g
he
was
“p oud”
to
be
a
“dimagi
axal”.

Chidamba am’s
ema ks
came
a
day
afte
Modi,
du i g
his
I depe de ce
Day
add ess
f om
the
Red
Fo t,
u ged
people
a d
autho ities
to
“ide tify
a d
isolate”
those
with
a
“dimagi
axal”
(ideological
Naxal)
mi dset.

Chidamba am’s
Jibe
At
PM
Modi

Reacti g
to
the
P ime
Mi iste ‘s
ema ks,
Chidamba am
w ote
o
X:
“I
am
p oud
to
be
a
dimagi
axal!”

I
am
p oud
to
be
a
dimagi
axal
!

—
P.
Chidamba am
(@PChidamba am_IN)

August
16,
2026

PM
Modi
had
said
o
Satu day
that
gove me t
actio
si ce
2014
had
la gely
b ought
a
e d
to
the
ju gle
i su ge cy
that
had
claimed
the
lives
of
mo e
tha
3,500
secu ity
pe so el.& bsp;

Howeve ,
he
alleged
that
people
with
a
“Maoist
me tality”
had
p eviously
occupied
positio s
o
gove me t
committees
a d
i flue ced
policy.

“Fo
yea s,
people
with
a
Maoist
mi dset
had
established
themselves
i
the
co ido s
of
powe .
They
had
se ved
as
advise s
o
gove me t
committees
a d
i flue ced
public
policy,”
he
said.& bsp;

The
P ime
Mi iste
li ked
the
issue
to
his
visio
of
a
Viksit
Bha at
by
2047,
sayi g
the
focus
should
emai
o
keepi g
you g
people
alig ed
with
atio -buildi g.
He
also
wa ed
that
a
ideological
Naxal
mi dset
co ti ues
to
exist
i
i stitutio s
eve
as
a med
Maoist
viole ce
is
“b eathi g
its
last”.

He
said
“decades
of
Naxalism
a d
Maoist
viole ce
had
dest oyed
the
lives
a d
aspi atio s
of
millio s
of
you g
people,
with
ove
3,500
police
a d
secu ity
pe so el
killed
i
the
co flict,
a
umbe
much
highe
tha
the
soldie s
who
a e
killed
du i g
wa s.”

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August
17

Reacti g
to
Chidamba am’s
ema k,
BJP
leade
Syed
Shah awaz
Hussai
cla ified
that
PM
Modi
did
ot
make
a
di ect
efe e ce
to
a y
Co g essma
while
maki g
the
ema k
‘dimagi
axal’
i
his
I depe de ce
Day
speech.
He
added
that
if
the
Co g ess
leade s
we e
volu ta ily
accepti g
the
label,
the
it
is
thei
p oblem.

“The
P ime
Mi iste
did
ot
di ectly
efe
to
Co g essme
as
‘dimagi
axals,’
but
if
Co g ess
leade s
a e
volu tee i g
to
accept
that
label
themselves,
that
is
thei
ow
p oblem,”
he
told
IANS.

Co g ess
Questio s
‘Dimagi
Naxal’
Rema k

Co g ess
had
c iticised
PM
Modi’s
ema ks
o
Satu day,
desc ibi g
his
wa i g
agai st
“dimagi
axals”
as
hollow
political
heto ic
while
also
defe di g
the
pa ty’s
histo ical
positio
o
Va de
Mata am.

Se io
Co g ess
leade
Jai am
Ramesh
questio ed
the
mea i g
of
the
te m
a d
compa ed
it
with
the
ea lie
use
of
“u ba
axal”.
Ramesh
ecalled
that
whe
political
oppo e ts
we e
p eviously
desc ibed
as
“u ba
axals”,
questio s
we e
aised
i
Pa liame t
about
the
te m’s
defi itio .

He
said
U io
Home
Mi iste
Amit
Shah
had
the
cla ified
i
Pa liame t
that
the e
was
o
official
legal
defi itio
of
“u ba
axal”.

“Two
o
th ee
yea s
ago,
he
(PM
Modi)
called
his
political
oppo e ts
‘U ba
Naxals’;
at
that
time,
the
questio
a ose
i
Pa liame t
as
to
what
the
defi itio
of
‘U ba
Naxal’
was.
The
Home
Mi iste
eplied
that
the e
is
o
such
thi g
as
a
‘U ba
Naxal,’
o
is
the e
a y
defi itio
fo
it.
Today,
the
P ime
Mi iste
is
usi g
the
te m
‘Me tal
Naxal’
(ideological
Naxal)
fo
his
political
oppo e ts
f om
the

Red
Fo t,”
ews
age cy
ANI
quoted
Ramesh
as
sayi g.

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Shashi
Tha oo
Backs
Mahua
Moit a
Amid
Ci cuit
House
Evictio
Bid
Row

Ramesh
Accuses
Gove me t
Of
Adopti g
Oppo e ts’
Dema ds

Ramesh
fu the
alleged
that
the
gove me t
ofte
attacks
c itics
befo e
eve tually
accepti g
issues
a d
dema ds
aised
by
them.
He
cited
the
caste
ce sus
as
a
example,
sayi g
the
gove me t
had
ea lie
dismissed
the
dema d
befo e
a ou ci g
a
caste-based
ce sus.

“The
eality
is
that
he
eve tually
accepts
the
issues
a d
dema ds
aised
by
the
ve y
people
he
labels
as
‘U ba
Naxals.’
He
had
dismissed
the
idea
of
a
caste
ce sus
as
‘U ba
Naxal’
thi ki g,
yet
a
yea
ago,
he
a ou ced
a
caste-based
ce sus.
Fi st,
you
make
de ogato y
ema ks–calli g
them
‘U ba
Naxals’
o
‘Me tal
Naxals’–but
late ,
you
accept
the
ve y
dema ds
you
political
oppo e ts
we e
maki g…
Eve
afte
12
yea s,
the e
was
othi g
ew
i
his
political
speech,”
the
Co g ess
leade
said.

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