The Supreme Court, on Saturday, temporarily suspended the Bombay High Court’s decision to acquit former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in a case related to alleged Maoist links. The release of Saibaba and four others was also stayed. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had acquitted them, overturning a 2017 life imprisonment sentence by a Gadchiroli Sessions Court.
Following the acquittal, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter, asserting that the “urban naxal” label coined by the Prime Minister’s brigade was baseless. He highlighted Saibaba’s acquittal after five years in jail, expressing concern over others still unjustifiably in custody.
The term “urban naxal” has been frequently used by the BJP, gaining popularity after the arrests of activists in the Elgar Parishad case in 2018. The police, probing alleged links to violence at Bhima Koregaon, labeled the arrested activists as Urban Naxals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the foundation stone-laying ceremony for Gujarat’s first bulk drug park, brought up the issue of “Urban Naxals.” In what appeared to be a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party, Modi mentioned the entry of Urban Naxals into the state with altered appearances, accusing them of misleading the youth.
Earlier statements by Modi and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel suggested that the term “Urban Naxals” targeted those opposing projects like the Narmada dam and hindering environmental clearances. The BJP has used the term to discredit political opponents, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and environmental activist Medha Patkar.
The term gained official recognition from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in November 2018, directing the CRPF to take action against Urban Naxals. It also figured in RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Dussehra speech in October 2018, describing “Urban Maoism” as spreading falsehood and hatred.
In Parliament in February 2022, Modi accused the Congress of being “trapped by the Urban Naxals,” leading to a walkout by the Congress in protest. However, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy stated in a 2020 parliamentary reply that the term “Urban Naxals” was not used by the Ministry of Home Affairs, although the government’s National Policy and Action Plan addressed Left Wing Extremism in all its manifestations, including urban activities.
