New Delhi, August 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to “dimagi Naxalism” during his Independence Day address was not directed at Opposition leaders, amid a political controversy over the remark.
Rijiju said Modi was referring to forces that, according to the government, seek to undermine India’s constitutional framework and weaken the idea of the country.
“PM Narendra Modi ji didn’t say Opposition leaders as Dimagi Naxals,” Rijiju said in a post on X.
Explaining whom he believed the term referred to, Rijiju said: “Only following are ‘Dimagi Naxals’: Who support Maoists and reject Indian Constitution, those who stand with separatists and support Article 370 and those who want to cut chicken neck to separate North-East from India.”
Modi, in his Independence Day address, said India had made significant progress in eliminating armed Naxalism from the jungles but warned that what he described as “dimagi Naxalism” remained a challenge.
“We have succeeded in getting rid of armed Naxals in the jungles, but ‘dimagi Naxals’ (those with a Naxal mindset) are looking for opportunities to create violence, unrest… They want to drag society on the wrong path. These ‘dimagi Naxals’ have to be identified and isolated, and we must connect the youth with the mainstream,” the Prime Minister said.
The remarks drew a sharp response from the Congress, which accused Modi of increasingly using provocative labels for political opponents.
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram reacted to the Prime Minister’s remarks on X, writing, “I am proud to be a dimagi naxal!”
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh also criticised Modi, linking the latest terminology to the Prime Minister’s earlier references to “urban 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 an X post.
The exchange has intensified the political debate over Modi’s Independence Day remarks and the government’s description of what it considers ideological challenges to the constitutional order.
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