"Not Dimagi, Pure Naxal": Himanta Biswa Sarma Attacks P Chidambaram

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday slammed Congress leader and former Union home minister P Chidambaram over the "Dimagi Naxal" controversy, accusing him of being part of what he described as a wider effort to create unrest in the country.  

"I strongly believe Chidambaram is not a dimagi Naxal. He is more than a dimagi Naxal. He himself is a Naxal. Those who are trying to create anarchy in the country are pure Naxals, not dimagi Naxals," he said.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the nation to beware of whom he referred to as "dimagi naxals" (Maoists from intellect) during his Independence Day speech, P Chidambaram said he was "proud to be a dimagi Naxal".

"Chidambaram was India's home minister during that time (when Maoists attacked Congress leaders). Senior Congress leaders, including Vidya Charan Shukla, were killed in bomb blasts in Chhattisgarh. Although Congress was in power, it never took the initiative to finish the Naxal problem or take action against the Naxals," Sarma said.

Referring to Chidambaram's remark, Sarma said the statement should be investigated to determine whether the former home minister had any prior knowledge of attacks in which Congress leaders were killed.

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"As Chidambaram himself has said, 'I am a dimagi Naxal', there should be an investigation into whether he knowingly failed to take action during his tenure as home minister," Sarma added.

Sarma, meanwhile, credited the BJP-led government at the Centre with reducing violence in areas that had previously witnessed insurgency, citing Assam's Bodoland region as an example.

"Nobody had ever imagined that our country would be free from Naxalism. In Assam, we never thought Bodoland would become peaceful. We never imagined that August 15 and January 26 could be celebrated peacefully without bomb blasts," he said.

Sarma said the situation had changed during the tenure of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and claimed that the improvement in the security situation had unsettled the Congress.

Also read: 'Dimagi Naxal Party' Instagram Page Gets 1.6 Lakh Followers, Then Disappears

"During our Home Minister Amit Shah's time, peace has returned to the country. Now it has become uncomfortable for the Congress," he said.

The Assam chief minister also accused the Congress of seeking to create an atmosphere of unrest ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

"They are all planning to establish anarchy in the country so that they get an opportunity to come back to power in 2029. That is why all these practices are continuing," Sarma said.