Chidambaram says he is ‘proud to be a dimaagi Naxal’; BJP hits back

Sudha shu
T ivedi,
P
Chidamba am

NEW
DELHI:

BJP
atio al
spokespe so
Sudha shu
T ivedi
o
Mo day
hit
back
at
Co g ess
leade

P
Chidamba am
ove
his
‘dimagi
Naxal’
ema k,
questio i g
the
Co g ess’
positio
o
Naxalism
by
i voki g
fo me
P ime
Mi iste
Ma moha
Si gh’s
2006
assessme t
of
the
th eat.T ivedi
said

PM
Modi
had
aised
the
issue
i
his
I depe de ce
Day
add ess
a d
questio ed
Chidamba am’s
decisio
to
emb ace
the
label
a
day
late .”PM
Modi
aised
a
ve y
impo ta t
topic
of
‘Dimagi
Naxal’
o
I depe de ce
Day.
We
a e
su p ised
that
withi
24
hou s
of
this,
Co g ess
leade
P
Chidamba am
has
said
that
he
is
p oud
of
bei g
a
‘Dimagi
Naxal,'”
T ivedi
said.His
ema ks
came
a
day
afte
Chidamba am
espo ded
to
PM
Modi’s
I depe de ce
Day
speech
by
sayi g,
“I
am
p oud
to
be
a
dimagi
axal!”T ivedi
the
cited
a
stateme t
made
by
Ma moha
Si gh
o
Ap il
13,
2006,
whe
the
fo me
p ime
mi iste
desc ibed
Naxalism
as
a
majo
i te al
secu ity
challe ge.Also
ead
-‘P oud
to
be
a
dimagi
axal’:
P
Chidamba am
hits
back
at
PM
Modi”I
wa t
to
emi d
Co g ess
a d
P
Chidamba am
that
o
13th
Ap il
2006,
fo me
PM
D
Ma moha
Si gh
said,
“It
would
ot
be
a
exagge atio
to
say
that
the
p oblem
of
Naxalism
is
the
si gle
biggest
i te al
secu ity
challe ge
eve
faced
by
ou
cou t y”,”
T ivedi
said.”I
wa t
to
ask
the
Co g ess
–
who
was
ight,
D
Ma moha
Si gh
o
P
Chidamba am?”
he
added.Chidamba am’s
espo se
to
PM
ModiChidamba am’s
ema ks
came
afte
PM
Modi,
i
his
I depe de ce
Day
add ess
f om
the
Red
Fo t,
wa ed
about
what
he
desc ibed
as
a
‘dimagi
axal’
o
Naxal
mi dset.

PM
Modi
said
a med
Naxalism
was
ea i g
its
e d
but
cautio ed
that
people
with
a
ideological
Naxal
mi dset
could
co ti ue
to
pose
a
th eat.”Eve
if
these
axals
a e
go e,
but
the
‘dimagi
axal’
(people
with
axal
thi ki g),
a e
looki g
fo
a
oppo tu ity,
looki g
to
see
ways
of
viole ce,
a d
t yi g
to
d ag
the
cou t y
to
a
w o g
path,”
PM
Modi
said.He
also
u ged
people
to
“ide tify
a d
isolate”
those
he
accused
of
seeki g
oppo tu ities
to
p omote
viole ce
a d
u est.Chidamba am’s
espo se
followed
c iticism
f om
othe
Co g ess
leade s
ove
the
P ime
Mi iste ‘s
ema ks.
Co g ess
ge e al
sec eta y
Jai am
Ramesh
accused
PM
Modi
of
evivi g
labels
such
as
“u ba
axal”
a d
“dimagi
axal”
to
ta get
political
oppo e ts.”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,”
Ramesh
said,
acco di g
to
ANI.BJP-Co g ess
clash
ove
NaxalismThe
BJP
has
defe ded
PM
Modi’s
ema ks
a d
sought
to
f ame
the
debate
a ou d
i te al
secu ity
a d
ideological
challe ges,
while
the
Co g ess
has
questio ed
the
use
of
te ms
such
as
‘dimagi
Naxal’
agai st
political
c itics.T ivedi’s
attack
specifically
sought
to
co t ast
the
Co g ess’
cu e t
espo se
with
the
positio
take
by
the
Co g ess-led
UPA
gove me t
u de
Ma moha
Si gh.PM
Modi
had
also
said
that
the
gove me t
had
p io itised
elimi ati g
Naxalism
si ce
comi g
to
powe
i
2014,
claimi g
that
decades
of
Maoist
viole ce
had
damaged
the
lives
a d
aspi atio s
of
you g
people
a d
esulted
i
the
deaths
of
secu ity
pe so el.

“I
2014,
whe
you
gave
us
the
oppo tu ity
we
had
decided
that
we
will
id
the
cou t y
of
axalism,
a d
today
I
am
happy
to
a ou ce
that
axalism
does
ot
have
eve
the
st e gth
fo
b eathi g,”
PM
Modi
said.The
ema ks
have
t igge ed
a
wide
political
debate
ove
the
disti ctio
betwee
a med
Naxalism,
ideological
oppositio
a d
disse t,
with
oppositio
pa ties
accusi g
the
gove me t
of
usi g
the
te mi ology
to
ta get
its
c itics.The
BJP
has
mai tai ed
that
the
te m
efe s
to
i dividuals
o
ideological
etwo ks
that
it
believes
i di ectly
suppo t
o
p omote
a ti- atio al
a atives.

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