Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not refer to Opposition leaders as “dimagi Naxals”, clarifying the remarks made by Modi in his Independence Day address.
In a post on X, Rijiju said the term referred to people who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution, stand with separatists and support Article 370, or call for cutting off the “Chicken’s Neck” to separate the Northeast from the rest of India.
The “Chicken’s Neck” is the 22-km-wide land corridor in West Bengal that connects the Northeast with the rest of the country.
“PM Narendra Modi ji didn’t say Opposition leaders as Dimagi Naxals,” Rijiju said, listing the groups he said the term referred to.
In his Independence Day address on Saturday, Modi congratulated the country for successfully uprooting Maoists and paid tribute to thousands of security personnel who had died in the fight against Maoism.
He said that while armed Maoists had been eliminated, “dimagi Naxals” remained and needed to be “identified and isolated”.
“For years, people with Maoist thinking were there in public life, even in government committees,” Modi said, adding that such thinking had affected institutions and initiatives.
The remarks drew criticism from Congress leaders. Congress leader P Chidambaram appeared to take the reference personally and posted on X on Sunday: “I am proud to be a dimagi naxal!”
Rijiju’s clarification came amid the criticism from Congress leaders over Modi’s remarks.