‘Urban Naxals to Dimagi Naxals’: Chidambaram questions BJP labels

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent warning to isolate “Dimagi Naxals,” calling it a fresh variant of the BJP’s political rhetoric against critics. He argued that terms like “urban naxals,” “andolanjeevis,” and “tukde tukde gang” were vague political abuses aimed at discrediting the Opposition .

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, P. Chidambaram on Sunday sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent warning to isolate “Dimagi Naxals”, describing the phrase as nothing more than a fresh variant of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) long-standing political rhetoric against its critics.

In a post on his official X account, the former Union Finance Minister said the term “Dimagi Naxals” was the “new variant” to a series of accusations previously levelled by the BJP.

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He listed earlier labels such as “urban naxals”, “andolanjeevis” and the “tukde tukde gang”, saying that all of them were directed primarily at members of the Opposition.

Chidambaram posed a series of pointed questions in his post: “Who were the urban naxals? Who were the andolanjeevis? Who were the tukde tukde gang?”

He asserted that these terms had been used as political abuses rather than precise descriptions of any organised threat.

According to the Congress Rajya Sabha MP, the new coinage “Dimagi Naxals” followed the same pattern and was aimed at discrediting those who disagreed with the Narendra Modi-led Union government.

Chidambaram’s remarks came in direct response to the Prime Minister Modi’s call to isolate individuals he described as “Dimagi Naxals”.

He said that such language formed part of a continuing strategy to brand Opposition voices and civil society critics with pejorative tags instead of engaging with their arguments on policy or ideology.

By questioning the identity of those previously labelled under the older terms, the former Finance Minister suggested that the accusations had always been vague and politically motivated.

He implied that the new expression served the same purpose—to cast aspersions on the Opposition rather than address specific acts of violence or extremism.

The exchange once again highlighted the sharp polarisation in Indian political discourse, where terminology itself becomes a battleground.

While the Union government has maintained that ideological support for extremism must be confronted, opposition leaders continue to view such labels as attempts to stifle dissent.

Chidambaram’s social media post is expected to fuel further debate in the coming days as both sides dig in over the meaning and intent behind the phrase “Dimagi Naxals”.