BASTAR, NOV 8 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said armed Maoists had been eliminated but “dimagi Naxals” had infiltrated several political parties and organisations, allegedly instigating people against the Constitution and democracy.
“We must identify and defeat such elements and secure the country,” Modi said while celebrating Diwali with security personnel at a CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar.
The government had declared the country free of Naxalism on March 31 this year. However, Modi said the threat had not ended, alleging that ideological supporters of Maoists had taken control of several organisations and were continuing to instigate people against the Constitution and democracy.
He said the elimination of Maoist terror was a victory of the country’s right policies and strong political will. Modi had also referred to “dimagi Naxals” in his Independence Day address in August, saying ideological supporters of armed Naxalism were seeking opportunities to promote violence.
Recalling the fight against Naxalism, Modi said the challenge had once affected more than 230 districts across nearly 20 states. Thousands of villages and crores of people were affected, while around 2,000 Naxalite attacks took place annually, he said.
He alleged that previous governments had failed to address the problem and pointed out that between 2004 and 2013, more security personnel were killed every year than the number of Naxalites eliminated.
“Unfortunately, the governments of that time treated Naxalism as an incurable disease and left it unaddressed,” he said, adding that the lack of political will was addressed in 2014.
Modi said the situation and morale of security forces began changing after 2014. For the first time in 47 years, not a single CRPF personnel had lost his life while on duty over the past year, he noted.
He credited the achievement to the government’s policies and the courage and restraint of security personnel.
The Prime Minister said the government had taken several measures to strengthen national security and weaken the funding networks of Naxalites and secessionists. These included destroying the fake currency nexus, choking supply lines, stopping the supply of weapons and curbing recruitment, he said.
Modi alleged that previous governments had restricted security forces during ground operations and denied them the freedom to respond effectively to Maoist attacks. His government, he said, had given security forces the freedom to take necessary decisions and worked to stop support for Left-Wing Extremism from within the government and the system.
He said the objective was to prevent families from losing their children to violence and ensure that no child took up arms or youth lost their future. The government had worked with sensitivity to weaken Maoist networks and improve the lives of people in affected areas, he added.
Modi also referred to progress in poverty reduction, citing a World Bank report which, he said, showed that 50 crore people had come out of extreme poverty over the past 12 years.
He cited the abrogation of Article 370, construction of household toilets and expansion of vaccination coverage as examples of the country’s ability to fulfil its commitments. He said India would also achieve its goals of eliminating poverty, building a drug-free nation and becoming developed and self-reliant.
Cong calls Modi ‘distraught, disturbed and desperate’: Congress on Sunday hit back at Modi over his “dimagi Naxals” remarks, saying the Prime Minister was “distraught, disturbed and desperate” and that his “jhola-picking-up time” was fast approaching.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh accused Modi of using a solemn, non-political occasion to target political opponents while wearing the uniform of security personnel.
In a post on X, Ramesh said the Prime Minister had not spared the nation his “trademark abuse” even on Diwali. He described the remarks as an assault on institutional norms.
Ramesh cited Modi’s April 2024 remark referring to those demanding a caste census as “urban Naxals”, noting that the Prime Minister later announced in April 2025 that a caste census would be conducted as part of Census 2027.
He also recalled that Modi had described those protesting against the three farm laws in September 2020 as supporters of a Naxal ideology, before the government withdrew the laws in November 2021.
“The PM is clearly distraught, disturbed and desperate. Jhola-picking-up time is fast approaching,” Ramesh said.
