‘Sign of desperation’: Opposition says PM Modi’s ‘dimagi Naxals’ remark shows he is ‘rattled’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing his opponents as “dimagi Naxals”, or persons with “Naxal mentality”, was a “sure sign of his desperation”, said the Congress on Saturday.

“It is a separate matter that he ends up doing whatever these so-called ‘urban Naxals’ or now ‘dimaagi Naxals’ are demanding or advocating,” said party leader Jairam Ramesh.

The term “urban Naxals” was first used by Union ministers and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party after several activists and academics were arrested in the Elgar Parishad case in 2018. Since then, the term has often been used to describe some dissidents of the Narendra Modi government.

Earlier in the day, addressing the nation from the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day, Modi had said that “dimagi Naxals” are a threat to Indian society and called for them to be “found and isolated”.

He also claimed that persons with Maoist ideology had for years “established themselves in the corridors of power and influenced policy making, including as advisers on government committees”.

First He called his opponents ‘urban naxals.’

Now He calls them ‘dimaagi naxals.’

It is a sure sign of His desperation. It is a separate matter that He ends up doing whatever these so-called ‘urban naxals’ or now ‘dimaagi naxals’ are demanding or advocating.

It is not for…— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 15, 2026

Congress leader Sachin...

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