Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force at a camp in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Sunday while celebrating the Hindu festival of Diwali. According to The Hindu and Business Standard, the Prime Minister used the occasion to argue that while armed Maoists have been largely eliminated, ideological supporters of Naxalism remain a significant threat. He described these individuals as “dimagi Naxals,” or those with a Naxal mentality, claiming they have infiltrated political parties and various organizations to instigate public sentiment against the Constitution and democracy.
Business Standard reported that Modi, wearing a camouflage outfit, stated that the government had dealt significant blows to the funding of Naxals and secessionists. He noted that the administration declared the country free of Naxalism on March 31 of this year, yet the ideological threat persists. The Prime Minister said the country must identify and defeat these elements to secure its democratic framework, a term he first popularized during his Independence Day speech.
The Opposition responded by framing the address as a political intervention in military affairs. Scroll reported that Trinamool Congress figure Saket Gokhale argued Modi was telling CRPF troops to “eliminate” the Opposition by labeling them “dimagi Naxals.” Gokhale suggested this approach explains why security forces have used pellet guns on unarmed Delhi protesters during recent youth protests. TMC MP Mahua Moitra criticized the Prime Minister for wearing military fatigues, suggesting he should leave the armed forces alone.
Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned the implications of the terminology, asking if the Prime Minister wanted national forces to wage war against the nation's youth. His colleague Jairam Ramesh described the event as a brazen assault on institutional norms, noting that Modi used a solemn, non-political occasion to hurl invectives at rivals. Ramesh argued that the Prime Minister is “clearly distraught, disturbed and desperate.”
Other political voices also weighed in. Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, urged Modi not to politicize festivals, suggesting that religious celebrations should spread love rather than division. The exchange highlights a growing tension between the executive’s use of security forces for political messaging and the Opposition’s defense of institutional norms.