'Next target is to finish Dimagi Naxals': Rijiju slams Rahul for attacking PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi for attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on 'Dimagi Naxal'.In a social media post on X, Rijiju reminded Rahul that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described Left-wing extremism as the biggest internal security threat to the country."Rahul ji, thank Modi ji for eliminating the Armed Maoists. Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh ji had famously described Left-Wing Extremism and Naxalism as 'The single biggest internal security threat' to India," Rijiju said."Next target is to finish Dimagi Naxals," he added.This comes a day after Rahul hit back at PM Modi over his 'Dimagi Naxal' remarks, claiming that the CRPF jawans' facial expressions suggested they did not believe the Prime Minister's claims.In a post on X addressed to CRPF personnel who attended PM Modi's Diwali event in Bastar, Rahul said, "Your faces said it all: you didn't buy the PM's lies. He called us Naxals.""My challenge stands. Let him debate me on who is anti-national and who is controlled by foreign forces. Any time, any place," he said, adding, "My guarantee: after the debate, the PM won't have the guts to stand in front of a single jawan again." The war of words began after PM Modi, while celebrating Diwali with security personnel in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, said that although armed Naxalites had been wiped out from forests, "Dimagi Naxals" had infiltrated several organisations and political parties and were inciting people against the Constitution and democracy. The Prime Minister also accused previous governments of restricting the freedom of security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations, saying his government had given them the authority to take necessary decisions."We must remember one thing. Naxalites have been eliminated, but the threat is not yet over. While armed Naxalites have been wiped out from the forests, 'Dimagi Naxals' have taken control of several organisations. Even today, they are inciting people against the country's Constitution and democracy. These 'Dimagi Naxals' have also infiltrated several political parties and different organisations. We must identify them, defeat them and ensure the security of the nation," PM Modi said.The remarks came months after the Centre announced on March 31 that the country had been freed from the menace of Naxalism, following the elimination of several Maoist leaders and cadres and the surrender of hundreds of others. Rohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times of India, where he decodes Indian politics as a carefully staged production with scripts, subtext and everything behind. His stories track elections, party dynamics and the things that often are buried beneath the headlines. When not parsing vote shares or alliances, he is usually reading between the lines, where the real story tends to reside.