Jairam Ramesh criticises PM Modi over Dimagi Naxal remarks
The Congress leader accused the Prime Minister of targeting political rivals during his Diwali visit to Bastar, Chhattisgarh.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for referring to political opponents as "Dimagi Naxals" during a Diwali visit to Bastar, Chhattisgarh. According to reports from The New Indian Express and ANI, Ramesh described the comments as a brazen assault on institutional norms.
While interacting with security personnel at a CRPF camp, Prime Minister Modi said that although armed Naxalites had been driven out of forests, "Dimagi Naxals" had infiltrated several organisations and political parties. He alleged these individuals were inciting people against the Constitution and democracy.
Ramesh, who is the Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, stated on X that the Prime Minister used a solemn, non-political occasion to hurl invectives at rivals. He added that the Prime Minister appeared "distraught, disturbed and desperate."
The Congress leader cited previous instances to support his claim, noting that in April 2024, the Prime Minister called those demanding a caste census "urban Naxals" before later announcing a census would be conducted with Census 2027. Ramesh also mentioned that in September 2020, the Prime Minister had linked those protesting three farm laws to Naxal ideology before the laws were withdrawn in November 2021.
Prime Minister Modi stated that his government had given security forces the authority to take necessary decisions against Left-Wing Extremism, claiming previous governments had restricted their freedom to act.