Himanta Biswa Sarma: ‘Intentionally didn’t take action’: Himanta on Chidambaram’s ‘dimagi naxal’ remark | India News
NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday launched a sharp attack against former Union home minister P Chidambaram for claiming to be a “dimagi naxal” after Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s remark, asking for a probe into whether he intentionally did not take any action against Naxalism during his tenure.In a press conference, Sarma said, “There should be a probe against Chidambaram who claims to be a “dimagi Naxal”. Was he intentionally not taking any action against Naxalism during his tenure?”This comes after Chidambaram took a swipe at PM Modi’s Independence Day speech and said, “I am proud to be a dimagi naxal!”Earlier on Saturday, PM Modi, during his Independence Day speech, said that while Naxals who took up arms in the jungle have been eliminated, there are also “dimagi naxals” in various parts of the country who need to be “identified and isolated.”“For years, people with Maoist thinking were there in public life. Even in government committees, this thinking had affected various institutions and initiatives. My dear countrymen, we have been able to curb and free the country from ‘hathariya naxal’ (armed naxal),” the Prime Minister said.
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“Even if these naxals are gone, the ‘dimagi naxal’ (people with naxal thinking) are looking for an opportunity, looking to see ways of violence, and trying to drag the country to a wrong path. We need to identify these dimagi naxal, isolate them, and bring the youth together for a developed country,” he added.The opposition latched on to PM Modi’s remarks and dismissed them as hollow political rhetoric.Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the term carries no real substance, drawing a parallel with previous debates surrounding the phrase “urban naxal”.“Two or three years ago, he (PM Modi) called his political opponents ‘urban naxals’. At that time, the question arose in Parliament as to what the definition of ‘Urban Naxal’ was. The home minister replied that there is no such thing as an ‘urban naxal’, nor is there any definition for it. Today, the Prime Minister is using the term ‘mental naxal’ (ideological Naxal) for his political opponents from the Red Fort,” Jairam Ramesh alleged.
