‘Not aimed at Opposition leaders’: Kiren Rijiju clarifies PM Modi’s ‘dimagi Naxal’ remark

Rijiju’s clarification came a day after Modi said that while armed Naxalism was nearing its end in the jungles, its ideological sympathisers were looking for opportunities to create unrest in the country. (PTI) 5 min readNew DelhiAug 17, 2026 02:29 AM IST First published on: Aug 16, 2026 at 08:50 PM IST A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address, called for identifying and isolating “dimagi Naxals” — those allegedly espousing a Maoist mindset — Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday sought to clarify that the remark was not directed at Opposition leaders, . Rijiju said Modi had referred only to those who support Maoists, separatists and people who do not believe in the Constitution. He also shared a clip of jailed student leader Sharjeel Imam’s speech in which Imam had spoken of cutting off Assam from the rest of India through the Siliguri corridor, referred to as the chicken’s neck, to draw the Union government’s attention.