BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi criticized Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Monday after Chidambaram described himself as "proud to be a Dimagi Naxal" [1].
The exchange highlights a deepening ideological divide over the definition of internal security threats and the political framing of Naxalism in India.
The dispute began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the term "Dimagi Naxal" to describe members of the opposition [4]. In response, Chidambaram adopted the label, stating he was "proud to be a Dimagi Naxal" [2].
Trivedi responded to these comments by accusing the Congress party of attempting to glorify a violent ideology. "Congress is trying to glorify Naxalism," Trivedi said [1].
During the exchange, Trivedi invoked a 2006 statement made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding Naxalism to question the consistency of the Congress party's current stance [1]. He used the historical reference to argue that the opposition is contradicting its own previous government's positions on the insurgency.
The political spat unfolded in New Delhi on Aug. 17, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Trivedi defended the BJP's terminology, suggesting that the opposition's embrace of the term indicates a dangerous alignment with subversive thinking.
Chidambaram's remarks were a direct reaction to the Prime Minister's characterization of the opposition's intellectual approach [4]. The BJP has since used this admission to frame the Congress leadership as sympathetic to Naxalite ideologies.
“"proud to be a Dimagi Naxal"”
This clash demonstrates the strategic use of terminology in Indian political discourse, where the term 'Naxal'—historically associated with violent Maoist insurgency—is being repurposed as a tool for ideological labeling. By adopting the Prime Minister's pejorative term, Chidambaram attempted to neutralize the insult, while the BJP's response seeks to link the Congress party to an ideology that the Indian state has spent decades combating militarily.
