Cong must apologise to family of Manmohan Singh who termed Maoists single biggest threat: Rijiju

New Delhi: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday fired a fresh salvo at the Congress over its MP P Chidambaram's swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "Dimagi Naxal" remark, saying the party must apologise to the family of ex-prime minister Manmohan Singh, who had said the Maoist problem was the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by India.

On Sunday, Rijiju had reacted to Chidambaram's "I am proud to be a Dimagi Naxal" remark, which followed after Modi in his Independence Day speech said "we have succeeded in getting rid of armed Naxals, but 'Dimagi Naxals' (intellectual Naxals) are looking for opportunities to create violence, unrest..."

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Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi said the country had succeeded in removing armed Naxalism from the forests but warned that its ideological supporters were seeking opportunities to promote violence and anarchy.

Chidambaram had also said that the term 'Dimagi Naxals' was the new variant of the old BJP accusations of "Urban Naxals", "Andolanjeevi" and "Tukde Tukde gang".

"Who were the Urban Naxals? Who were the Andolanjeevis? Who were the 'Tukde Tukde' gang? The old abuses were directed against the members of the opposition. Dimagi Naxals is a new variant of those abuses," Chidambaram said.

Rijiju on Monday said that Manmohan Singh had highlighted the Naxal problem as the prime minister in 2006.

"'It would not be an exaggeration to say that the problem of Naxalism is the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country,' Singh had said on April 13, 2006," Rijiju said.

"The Congress must apologise and say sorry to the family of Dr Manmohan Singh ji," the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said in a post on X.

On Sunday, Rijiju said that by 'Dimagi Naxals', Prime Minister Modi did not refer to the opposition leaders but only to those who support Maoists and separatists and reject the Indian Constitution.

"Very unfortunate and highly damaging statement by respected former home minister of India. PM Narendra Modi ji didn't say that opposition leaders are 'Dimagi Naxals'.

"Only the following are 'Dimagi Naxals': 1. Who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution; 2. Who stand with separatists and support Article 370. 3. Who want to cut the chicken neck to separate North-East from India," Rijiju had said in an X post.

The prime minister's remark riled the opposition leaders who decried it as an attempt to stigmatise dissent and target those who question the government.