New Delhi: Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Sunday hit out at Opposition parties over their criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to “dimagi Naxals” in his Independence Day address.

Rijiju said Modi was not referring to Opposition leaders as people with a Naxal mindset and sought to explain whom the Prime Minister meant by the term.

His clarification came a day after Modi, addressing the nation from the Red Fort on India’s 80th Independence Day, said armed Naxalism was nearing its end but warned of people with a “dimagi Naxal” mindset who were looking for opportunities to create violence and unrest.

Modi said such people needed to be “identified and isolated” while the country’s youth should be brought into the mainstream.

Rijiju lists those he calls ‘dimagi Naxals’

In a post on X, Rijiju said the term referred to people who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution, those who stand with separatists and support Article 370, and those who advocate cutting off the “Chicken’s Neck” corridor to separate the North-East from the rest of India.

“PM @narendramodi ji didn't say opposition leaders as Dimagi Naxals. Only following are Dimagi Naxals: 1. Who support Maoists and reject Indian Constitution. 2. Who stand with separatists & support Article 370. 4. Who want to cut chicken neck to separate North-East from India,” Rijiju said.

The minister was responding to criticism that followed Modi’s Independence Day speech.

Modi says armed Naxalism has been curbed

In his address, Modi recalled the sacrifice of security personnel who died fighting Naxalism and said the country had succeeded in curbing armed Naxalism.

He said Naxals who had taken up arms in the jungles had been eliminated, but warned that people with a “dimagi Naxal” mindset continued to look for opportunities to promote violence and push the country in what he described as a wrong direction.

“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). Even if these naxals are gone, but 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,” Modi said.

The remarks triggered a political response from the Congress, which questioned the meaning of the expression.

Congress questions meaning of ‘dimagi Naxal’

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised Modi’s warning against “dimagi Naxals”, describing it as political rhetoric and drawing a comparison with the earlier use of the term “Urban Naxal”.

Ramesh said that when the expression “Urban Naxal” was previously used for political opponents, questions had been raised in Parliament about its definition.

“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,” Ramesh alleged.

He further accused the government of dismissing demands raised by its critics before later accepting some of them.

Das says educated youth cannot be branded Naxals

Cockroach Janta Party chief spokesperson Saurav Das also criticised Modi over the remarks, arguing that educated young people could not be branded “Naxalis” simply for questioning the government.

“Dimagi Naxal or whatever is not going to work, prime minister. How could you loosely brand educated young people 'Naxalis' etc? Just because they question your government? Sheer arrogance! Sheer incompetence at resolving their problems?” Das said in a post on X.

“Bells are ringing. The awakening is here!” he added.

In a separate Independence Day message, Das said the country was celebrating Independence Day “in its truest sense” after what he described as a long period in which people had lived with fear.

He said a generation that had been told to remain silent had found its voice and that a generation told that nothing would change had begun to believe again.

“An era of awakening has begun. An era of peaceful protest has begun,” Das said, adding that people would gradually “weed out” what he called “the old, the corrupt, the incompetent and the arrogant”.

Das also said “a Jantar Mantar is being born in every district of this country”, where those feeling hopeless would find hope in one another and those feeling powerless would discover the strength of standing together.

He accused those in power of attempting to divide Gen-Z and young people by framing the issue as “Your Gen-Z vs Our Gen-Z”.

“Because they know what history holds: There is nothing more powerful than a people who refuse to be divided!” Das said.

“They will divide. We will unite. They will spread fear. We will spread courage. The mind is without fear now. And there is no going back,” he added.

Congress links remarks to ‘Urban Naxal’ debate

Ramesh also alleged that the government had previously dismissed demands as “Urban Naxal” thinking before eventually accepting them.

“The reality is that he eventually accepts the issues and demands raised by the very people he labels as 'Urban Naxals.' He had dismissed the idea of a caste census as 'Urban Naxal' thinking, yet a year ago, he announced a caste-based census. First, you make derogatory remarks--calling them 'Urban Naxals' or 'Mental Naxals'--but later, you accept the very demands your political opponents were making... Even after 12 years, there was nothing new in his political speech,” the Congress leader said.