Rijiju defends PM’s ‘dimagi naxal’ remark, cites Manmohan Singh

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'dimagi naxal' remark by invoking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 2004 statement that naxalism was the biggest internal security challenge. Rijiju said the Congress must apologise to Manmohan Singh's family.

PM Modi, in his Independence Day speech, said that while armed naxals had been eliminated, 'dimagi naxals' (ideological naxals) remain in various parts of the country and need to be identified and isolated. The opposition criticised the remark. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh compared it to the earlier 'urban naxal' label, which the home minister had said had no definition. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said he was proud to be a 'dimagi naxal' as a patriot.

BJP MP Brij Lal said 'dimagi naxals' pose as professors, poets, and NGO operators to spread violent ideology through seminars targeting youth. Rijiju clarified that the term was not meant for opposition leaders but only for those who support Maoists, reject the Constitution, back separatists on Article 370, or seek to separate India's northeast.