"Didn't call opposition leaders Dimagi Naxals:" Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on PM Modi's Red Fort remark

New Delhi: Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Sunday hit out at opposition parties over their criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Maoist mentality" remarks, asserting that the Prime Minister did not refer to opposition leaders as people with a Naxal mindset.

In a post on social media platform X, Kiren Rijiju clarified that "Dimagi Naxals" refers only to those who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution, those who stand with separatists and support Article 370, and those who advocate cutting off the Chicken's Neck corridor to separate the North-East from India.

"PM @narendramodi ji didn't say opposition leaders as Dimagi Naxals. Only following are Dimagi Naxals: 1. Who support Maoists and reject Indian Constitution. 2. Who stand with separatists & support Article 370. 4. Who want to cut chicken neck to separate North-East from India," said Rijiju.


Rijiju's remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed how the country has successfully uprooted naxalism from the country, remembering the sacrifice of thousands of martyred security personnel on the 80th Independence Day while addressing the nation on the iconic ramparts of Red Fort.

In his address, he emphasised that while the Naxals who took up arms in the jungle have been eliminated, there are also 'dimagi naxals', who are in various parts of the country and need to be "identified and isolated" so the youth of the country can be brought together for a developed India.

"For years, people with Maoist thinking were there in public life, even in government committees this thinking had affected various institutions and initiatives. My dear countrymen, we have been able to curb and free the country from 'hathariya naxal' (armed naxal). Even if these naxals are gone, but the 'dimagi naxal' (people with naxal thinking), are looking for an opportunity, looking to see ways of violence, and trying to drag the country to a wrong path. We need to identify these dimagi naxal, isolate them, and bring the youth together for a developed country," PM Modi said.

Following the address, Congress slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Red Fort address, dismissing his warnings against "dimagi naxals" (ideological Naxals) as hollow political rhetoric.

Reacting to PM Modi's call to identify and isolate "dimagi naxals" who threaten the country's progress, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that the term carries no real substance, drawing a parallel to previous debates surrounding the phrase "urban naxal".

"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 Naxal,' nor is there any definition for it. Today, the Prime Minister is using the term 'Mental Naxal' (ideological Naxal) for his political opponents from the Red Fort," Jairam Ramesh alleged.

Ramesh further alleged that the central government routinely vilifies its critics before eventually adopting the very policies they advocate.

"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. First, you make derogatory remarks--calling them 'Urban Naxals' or 'Mental Naxals'--but later, you accept the very demands your political opponents were making... Even after 12 years, there was nothing new in his political speech," the Congress leader said.