The prime minister has been celebrating Diwali with troops in carefully calibrated events in the past as well; and he likes to dress in battle fatigue or army uniform on such occasions, the first and the only prime minister and politician to do so. He is not the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President is. However, the uniform and the address by the PM, amplified by the government, BJP and the media have often surprised and shocked observers.
On Sunday, 8 November 2026, the PM dutifully distributed sweets to the troops and clapped as women soldiers made a circle around him and danced to music.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister has not spared the nation even on Diwali day his “trademark abuse”. “He has once again spoken of what he calls ‘dimaagi naxals’. He has used a very solemn non-political occasion, donned the uniform of the security forces, and
hurled invectives at his political rivals,” Ramesh said on X. This is a brazen assault on all institutional norms but when has that ever stopped this man, he asked.
Jairam Ramesh recalled that on 28 April 2024, the PM had said that those demanding a caste census were urban naxals, and later in 2025 he announced that a caste census would be carried out as part of Census 2027. In September 2020, he had called those agitating against the three black farm laws as supporters of Naxal ideology, and later in 2021 he withdrew the laws, he recalled pointing out how inconsistent the PM has been.
“The PM is clearly distraught, disturbed and desperate. Jhola-picking-up time is fast approaching,” Ramesh went on to add.
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