NEW DELHI: Congress on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Independence Day remarks on “dimaagi Naxals”, with party general secretary Jairam Ramesh calling the description a “sure sign of desperation”.Ramesh said PM Modi had earlier used the term “urban Naxals” for his opponents and was now referring to them as “dimaagi Naxals”.“First he called his opponents ‘urban naxals’. Now he calls them ‘dimaagi naxals’. It is a sure sign of his desperation,” Ramesh said in a post on X.He further alleged that the prime minister ends up doing what those he labels “urban naxals” or “dimaagi naxals” demand or advocate.“It is not for nothing that the PM has a MA being the ‘Master Abuser’ in Entire Political Science that he is,” Ramesh added.
PM Modi warns against ‘intellectual Naxals’
PM Modi raised the issue during his 13th consecutive Independence Day address from the Red Fort, saying that while armed Naxalism had been eliminated from large parts of the country, its ideological influence remained a concern.“We have succeeded in getting rid of armed Naxals in the jungles, but the ‘dimaagi Naxals’ are looking for opportunities to create violence, unrest…. They want to drag the society on the wrong path,” the prime minister said.“These intellectual Naxals have to be identified and isolated,” he added.PM Modi also said people with a Maoist mindset had for years established themselves in government institutions and influenced public policy.He said decades of Naxalism and Maoist violence had destroyed the lives and aspirations of millions of young people.The prime minister said more than 3,500 police and security personnel had been killed in the conflict and claimed that his government had made ending Naxalism a priority after taking office in 2014.
Congress attacks government on Independence Day
Ramesh’s response came as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also criticised the PM Modi government during Independence Day celebrations at the party headquarters in Delhi.Kharge accused the government of failing to deliver fundamental rights, avoiding parliamentary accountability and pursuing divisive politics. He also challenged PM Modi’s claims of transformation, crediting previous Congress-led governments with initiatives including the Right to Food, Right to Education and the Right to Work through MGNREGA.
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“From the Red Fort, the PM claims credit for everything; it is a mercy he doesn’t claim that the world survives only because of him,” Kharge said.He also accused the government of using “hate campaigns” against protesters and alleged that it was “crushing the poor”.For Congress, Kharge said, freedom meant ensuring education, opportunities and dignity rather than merely holding political power.The BJP, meanwhile, attacked leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for not attending the official Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that Gandhi’s absence reflected the mindset of a “Dimagi Naxal” ecosystem.
