Slugfest over Congress’s P Chidambaram’s ‘dimagi Naxal’ post
NEW DELHI: PM Modi’s ‘dimagi Naxal’ remark on August 15 became the subject of a political slugfest Sunday, with Congress‘s P Chidambaram saying he was “proud to be a dimagi Naxal” to which BJP replied that the ex-home minister’s remark shows how UPA govt was run.Union minister Kiren Rijiju said the PM was not referring to the opposition. “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,” he said on X. tnnCongress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera responded on X: “Brother Kiren Rijiju, get your counting right first, then we’ll answer. After 1 and 2 comes 3, not 4.”BJP ally TDP MP and former IPS officer Tenneti Krishna Prasad backed PM’s “dimagi Naxals” remarks, saying a new form of “intellectual Naxalism” has emerged. “The forest Naxalites and Maoists have been removed from forests; now this new form has emerged. Therefore, we have to remain extremely vigilant and protect our country, especially our youth,” he said in a video statement, according to news agency PTI.In an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi, Tenneti Krishna said, “Today, forest Naxalites have gone, and a new form has emerged. I call them ‘intellectual Naxalites’. They do not operate in forests; they operate in cities. They organise seminars in air-conditioned halls.
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BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said Chidambaram “has become the face of the Congress ecosystem which nurtures Maoism”. He recalled that as home minister, Chidambaram had expressed willingness to hold talks with Naxals when they had killed 76 security personnel, while JNU had witnessed an event lauding the killers. Under Modi govt, Maoism has not only been finished off but national flag is also flying in former strongholds of Maoists, he said.BJP also kept up its attack on Congress for allegedly insulting national song Vande Mataram, with BJP president Nitin Nabin, saying bowing to fundamentalist forces has become a permanent policy of Congress. Besides the attempt by Sonia Gandhi to “stop” the recital of Vande Mataram’s full version at Congress headquarters, its govt in Kerala removed the song altogether from the Independence Day event, he said.
