In his address, the Prime Minister had said that while armed Naxals operating in forests have been largely eliminated, people with “Naxal mentality” still exist in positions of influence and need to be identified and isolated. In response to PM Modi’s remarks, the former Union Home Minister expressed solidarity with the Naxal mentality by identifying as a “Dimagi Naxal”.
I am proud to be a dimagi naxal !
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 16, 2026
Chidambaram’s admission comes as no surprise because back in 2010, when he was the Union Home Minister, he offered to hold talks with armed Naxals without requiring them to lay down arms. A video shows Chidambaram speaking at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, expressing the government’s willingness to engage in dialogue with the Naxals, without having them compromise their ideology.
In the video, Chidambaram is seen showing acceptance and regard towards the Naxal ideology. Despite being the Union Home Minister at that time, who should have adopted a sterner approach towards the Naxal issue, he was seen pleading with the Naxals to communicate with the government. His demeanour was indicative of the then Congress government’s lack of will and commitment to confront Naxal terrorism, which plagued the country for decades before being finally uprooted by the Modi government.
He clearly stated that the government would not even ask the Naxals to lay down arms, as it was aware that they believed in armed struggle. “We’re ready for talks; we’re not asking you to lay down arms. We know you won’t do that because you believe in armed struggle,” Chidambaran said in the video.
His remarks were welcomed with huge applause by the audience present at the varsity, which has been a stronghold of leftist and other extremist ideologies. Coincidentally, the comments came a month after the Dantewada Maoist attack, where 76 CRPF policemen were killed.
Multiple attacks, including ambush killings, were carried out by the Naxals in 2008 and 2009, resulting in the deaths of security personnel as well as civilians.
Following are some major attacks carried out by the Naxals in 2008 and 2009, before the former Union Home Minister pleaded with them for talks: Two major Naxal attacks took place in June 2008 in Orissa, killing 38 troops and 21 policemen. This was followed by another Naxal attack in April 2009 in Orissa, which led to the killing of 10 paramilitary troops. The same month, Maoists hijacked a train with at least 300 people on board in Jharkhand and forced it to Latehar district before fleeing.
In May 2009, Naxals killed 16 policemen in the jungles of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra. Four Naxal attacks took place between June 10 and June 23 in 2009 in Jharkhand, including ambush and landmine attacks, in which around 30 security personnel were killed. In the following July, Naxals carried out three attacks in Chhattisgarh, killing several civilians and policemen.
Three Naxal attacks happened in September 2009 in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, killing four villagers and Balaghat BJP MP Baliram Kashyap’s sons at Pairaguda village in Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh). The next Naxal attack happened in October 2009, in which 17 policemen were killed in an ambush at Laheri police station in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.
It was after these many Naxal attacks that the then Union Home Minister, who was expected to deal with Naxal terrorism with an iron hand, was seen making humble appeals to the Naxal terrorists to talk to the government without compromising their bloodthirsty ideology. The video testifies to Chidambaram’s current admission of being a “Dimagi Naxal”.
