New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday renewed his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate over allegations of being anti-national and controlled by foreign forces, while accusing the PM of calling opposition leaders "Naxals".
Dear @crpfindia,Your faces said it all: you didn't buy the PM's lies.He called us Naxals.My challenge stands. Let him debate me on who is anti-national and who is controlled by foreign forces. Any time, any place.My guarantee: after the debate, the PM won't have the guts to stand in front of a single jawan again.प्रिय @crpfindia के जवानों,आपके चेहरों ने सब बता दिया - आपको प्रधानमंत्री के झूठ पर भरोसा नहीं।उन्होंने हमें नक्सली कहा।मेरी चुनौती क़ायम है। वो मुझसे बहस करें - देशद्रोही कौन है और विदेशी ताक़तों के इशारे पर कौन चल रहा है। कोई भी समय, किसी भी जगह।मेरी गारंटी: उस बहस के बाद प्रधानमंत्री में एक भी जवान के सामने खड़े होने की हिम्मत नहीं होगी।
In a post on X addressed to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Gandhi said their expressions during Modi's Diwali address showed that they did not believe the Prime Minister's remarks.
"Dear @crpfindia, Your faces said it all: you didn't buy the PM's lies. He called us Naxals," Gandhi said.
Reiterating his challenge, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha asked Modi to debate him on who was anti-national and who was controlled by foreign forces.
"My challenge stands. Let him debate me on who is anti-national and who is controlled by foreign forces. Any time, any place. My guarantee: after the debate, the PM won't have the guts to stand in front of a single jawan again," he added.
Gandhi's remarks came a day after Modi, while celebrating Diwali with security personnel at a CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh's Bastar, warned that the threat of Naxalism was not over despite the elimination of armed Maoists.
The Prime Minister alleged that "Dimagi Naxals" had infiltrated several political parties and organisations and were instigating people against the Constitution and democracy.
"We must identify and defeat such elements and secure the country," Modi said.
He also accused previous governments of restricting the freedom of security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations, claiming that his government had given them the authority to take necessary decisions.
The Prime Minister had made similar remarks in his Independence Day address in August, saying that although armed Naxalism had been eliminated, its ideological supporters continued to seek opportunities to promote violence.
The opposition has accused Modi of using the term "Dimagi Naxal" to brand and delegitimise democratic dissent.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, also criticised Modi's remarks, questioning the government's record on unemployment, inflation, and industrial development.
Speaking to reporters in Patna, Yadav said the Prime Minister was introducing new terms while failing to address pressing economic concerns.
"More importantly, why are you unable to eradicate unemployment from the country? You have allowed inflation to quadruple. China keeps encroaching further into our territory. The rupee is weakening, while the dollar is becoming more expensive and stronger," he said.
Yadav also questioned the lack of factories in Bihar, saying that industrial development could have addressed some of the concerns raised by people labelled "Dimagi Naxals".
"Why didn't you set up factories in Bihar? Had you done so, perhaps those you label as 'Dimagi Naxals' would not be questioning you today," he added.
Gandhi has repeatedly challenged Modi to an open debate, including over his earlier allegations that the Prime Minister came to power with foreign assistance and that foreign forces controlled and supported India's financial system. BJP leaders have dismissed Gandhi's challenge, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pointing to Parliament as an existing forum for debate and asking him to show seriousness and responsibility as Leader of the Opposition.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)