Thiruvananthapuram | A war of words has erupted between Keralam BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram over the 2013 naxal attack in Chhattisgarh that killed several Congress leaders.
The exchange came days after a court convicted 10 people in connection with the brutal May 25, 2013, attack on a Congress convoy in the state's Bastar region, which killed several party leaders, including then state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and former Union minister V C Shukla.
Chandrasekhar, in a post on 'X' on Tuesday, linked former Home Minister Chidambaram to the issue and questioned the Congress' handling of the Naxal problem when it was in power.
"In 2013, Naxals killed and wiped out Cong party leadership in Chattisgarh. A few days ago, 10 convicted by Court," Chandrasekhar said.
He then referred to Chidambaram's recent remarks in which the Congress leader described himself as a "Dimaghi Naxal", a term used by BJP leaders to attack those they accuse of being ideological sympathisers of Naxalism.
"Then Home Minister @PChidambaram_IN admits he was/is a #DimaghiNaxal. So Chattisgarh Cong party leaders were also victims of this ideology," Chandrasekhar asked.
He also questioned why issues such as Naxalism and terrorism had remained unresolved for decades.
"Ever wonder why entrenched problems like Naxals, Terror had to wait for PM @narendramodi to come and defeat them," he asked.
Responding to Chandrasekhar, Chidambaram pointed out that he had left the Union Home Ministry before the Chhattisgarh attack.
"Rajeev Chandrasekhar has amnesia. I left the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2012. The dastardly attack on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh took place in May 2013," Chidambaram said.
Chandrasekhar hit back, saying Chidambaram's responsibility could not be limited to the date of the attack.
"Granted that you were not Home Minister on the exact day or the hour of the Naxal attack that brutally killed your partys state leadership. For almost 4 years you were Home Minister," he said.
"The Naxal terrorists who slaughtered your Congress colleagues in May 2013 did not magically appear the day you moved to the Finance Ministry, @PChidambaram_IN," Chandrasekhar said.
He alleged that the Maoists "grew, armed themselves, and gained strength" during Chidambaram's tenure as Home Minister.
Chandrasekhar further said that blaming his absence from the Home Ministry at the time of the attack was an "insult" to the memory of the Congress leaders killed in the incident.
"Saying 'I changed cabins by then,' when you were the architect of the DimaghiNaxal idealogy and doctrine that cost the lives of your own colleagues, is an insult to their memory," he said.
The BJP leader also attacked the Congress over its record on national security and the economy, saying, "As Home Minister you celebrated Naxals, as Finance Minister encouraged Cronies - is it any wonder the Cong decade was a disaster for India's security and economy?" The exchange between the two leaders also came weeks after Chidambaram took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "dimagi naxal" remark and said, "I am proud to be a dimagi naxal".
Chidambaram's dig at the Prime Minister came in response to Modi's warning to the country about "dimagi naxals" who have allegedly entrenched themselves in the system and continue to pose a threat to society by manipulating policies. Modi urged citizens to "identify and isolate" them.