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New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI): Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "dimagi naxal" remark, and said, "I am proud to be a dimagi naxal".

Addressing the nation on the 80th Independence Day on Saturday, Modi warned about "dimagi naxals" who have allegedly entrenched themselves in the system and continue to pose a threat to society by manipulating policies. The PM urged the citizens to "identify and isolate" them.

Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the prime minister said the country had succeeded in removing armed Naxalism from the forests but warned that its ideological supporters were seeking opportunities to promote violence and anarchy.

Hitting back at the PM, Chidambaram said on X, "I am proud to be a dimagi naxal!" In another post, the former home minister said "dimagi naxals" is the new variant of the old BJP accusations of "urban naxals, Andolanjeevi and tukde tukde gang".

"Who were the urban naxals? Who were the andolanjeevis? Who were the tukde tukde gang? The old abuses were directed against the members of the Opposition," he said.

"Dimagi naxals" are a new variant of the abuses, Chidambaram said.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said the PM was not referring to opposition leaders as "dimagi naxals" but only to those who support Maoists and separatists and reject the Indian Constitution.

Sharing Chidambaram's post on X, Rijiju said it was a very unfortunate and highly damaging statement by the respected former home minister of India.

"PM Narendra Modi ji didn't say opposition leaders are Dimagi Naxals," the Union minister said.

"Only following are Dimagi Naxals: 1. Who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution. 2. Who stand with separatists & support Article 370.

"4. Who want to cut chicken neck to separate North-East from India (sic)," he said in a veiled reference to student activist Sharjeel Imam, who is in judicial custody in connection with a case under the anti-terror UAPA law.

Imam was arrested on August 25, 2020, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for being one of the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi that left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera took a jibe at Rijiju with a post on X.

"Brother Kiren Rijiju, get your counting right first, then we'll answer. After 1 and 2 comes 3, not 4," Khera said.

"Entire Political Science's kamaal (The marvel of entire political science)," Congress' Jairam Ramesh said, responding to Khera's post.

In his remarks, Modi had said, "For years, people with a Maoist mindset had established themselves in the corridors of power. They had served as advisers on government committees and influenced public policy." The prime minister said this challenge should not be underestimated and emphasised the need to remain more vigilant.

He said decades of Naxalism and Maoist violence had destroyed the lives and aspirations of millions of young people, with over 3,500 police and security personnel killed in the conflict, a number much higher than that of soldiers who are killed during wars.

"Naxalism held a very large part of India and a huge population in its grip at gunpoint," he said.

The prime minister said his government, which took office in 2014, had made ending Naxalism a priority.

"Today, I am happy that Naxalite and Maoist violence is being brought to an end. In areas where the bullets of Naxalites once rang out, where bloodshed was once commonplace, the tricolour of development, trust and effort is now flying because these areas have been freed from Naxalism," he said. PTI ASK DIV DIV

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)