Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the phrase “dimagi Naxals” while celebrating Diwali with CRPF personnel at a camp in Karanpur, Bastar on Sunday.
- He said armed Maoist cadres had been largely eliminated but ideological supporters had infiltrated political parties and organisations and were instigating people against the Constitution.
- Rahul Gandhi renewed his challenge to Modi for a public debate after the remarks and accused the prime minister of calling opposition figures Naxals.
- Congress MP Jairam Ramesh described the comment as a brazen assault on institutional norms and opposition leaders warned the language blurs dissent with security threats.
- The remarks follow the Centre’s March 31 declaration that Naxal violence was largely defeated and extend a longer pattern of using insurgency-linked labels, with central and Chhattisgarh police forces still credited for anti-Naxal operations in the region.