New Delhi, August 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday hit back at senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram over his remark that he was “proud to be a Dimagi Naxal”, with BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi asserting that the Maoist challenge that remained a major security concern during the Congress-led UPA governments had been decisively brought under control under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Trivedi questioned the Congress’ position on Left-Wing Extremism and referred to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 2006 description of Naxalism as the country’s biggest internal security challenge.
“PM Modi had raised an important topic of ‘Dimagi Naxal’ during his Independence Day address. However, we are shocked that within 24 hours of this, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that he is proud of being a ‘Dimagi Naxal’,” Trivedi said.
Referring to Singh’s April 13, 2006 assessment, Trivedi asked the Congress whether the former Prime Minister or Chidambaram was right in their respective positions on Naxalism.
The BJP leader claimed that Maoist influence had spread across several parts of the country during the UPA era, with more than 180 districts affected by Naxalism at the time. He also referred to the “Red Corridor” description of the affected belt and the 2010 Dantewada attack in which more than 75 CRPF personnel were killed.
Trivedi also alleged that celebrations were held at a prominent university in the national capital following the Dantewada attack, describing such conduct as an example of what he called “Dimagi Naxalism”.
According to Trivedi, more than 5,000 civilians were killed and 1,913 security personnel were martyred in anti-Naxal operations during Chidambaram’s tenure in the Union government. He further claimed that more than 92 per cent of weapons held by Naxals had been looted from police forces.
He said the number of Naxal-affected districts, which he put at 180 during the earlier period, had subsequently come down to zero, and claimed that the Modi government had decisively curbed the Maoist threat by March 31 this year.
Trivedi also highlighted development measures in areas previously affected by Left-Wing Extremism. He said more than 1,800 bank branches and 1,200 ATMs had been opened in such regions, while over 6,000 mobile towers had been installed to strengthen connectivity and access to essential services.
He said those objecting to the government’s achievements in combating Maoism and developing previously affected areas reflected the mindset referred to by Prime Minister Modi as “Dimagi Naxal”.
“Anyone who finds this sight objectionable is a Dimagi Naxal,” Trivedi said.
The BJP’s response came after Chidambaram took to social media to react to the Prime Minister’s Independence Day remarks, saying, “I am proud to be a Dimagi Naxal.”
The former Union Finance Minister subsequently described “Dimagi Naxals” as a “new variant” of labels he said had previously been used by the BJP against Opposition members. He cited terms including “urban naxals”, “andolanjeevis” and the “tukde tukde gang”.
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