Narendra Modi says "armed Naxals may have gone" as India faces subtle danger

During his Saturday address marking the 80th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed India’s battle against left-wing extremism and said the country now faced a more subtle danger from ideological sympathizers inside the establishment. Opposition leaders called the remark a misleading attempt to criminalize dissent. Union minister Kiren Rijiju then said Modi was not targeting opposition figures, only those who backed the rebel movement, refused to accept the Constitution, and endorsed separatist causes. A senior Congress leader, P. Chidambaram, responded by embracing the description, prompting governing-party figures to condemn him and accuse him of supporting the insurgency. Another Congress spokesperson mocked Rijiju for numbering his explanation incorrectly. The clash underlined the continuing political polarization over how dissent is characterized.