Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], September 11 (ANI): BJP National Secretary Satish Poonia on Friday launched a scathing attack on senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram over his remarks questioning India's tangible gains from BRICS summits, declaring that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reference to 'Dimagi Naxal' applies precisely to such individuals. 

Speaking to ANI while casting his vote during the second phase of the Rajasthan local body elections, Poonia claimed that the Congress engaged in similar theatrics when India hosted the G20 summit, asserting that India hosting the BRICS summit is a matter of immense pride for the nation. 

 "In a democracy, there may be disagreement or opposition; one might belong to a different party or hold different views, but hosting the BRICS summit is a matter of pride for India. The Congress party was engaged in similar theatrics regarding the G20... The mindset P Chidambaram has revealed regarding BRICS, the government's preparations, and BJP leaders suggests to me that the Prime Minister's reference to a 'Dimagi Naxal'  applies precisely to such people,' Poonia told ANI. 

Poonia's remarks came after Chidambaram questioned the outcomes of recent BRICS summits and asked what concrete benefits India had received from its participation in various multilateral groupings.

'I don't think the last two or three BRICS summits have resulted in tangible benefits or tangible results,' Chidambaram had told ANI while speaking about the upcoming BRICS Summit 2026 in Delhi. 

The Congress leader also pointed to India's membership of BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G20 and QUAD, questioning the benefits arising from these groupings. 

'I didn't see any benefits. Earlier, the BRICS Summits resulted in some tangible benefits,' Chidambaram said.

Meanwhile, India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13 under its 2026 BRICS Chairship. India's Chairship is guided by the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", with development, sustainability and innovation forming key areas of focus.

For India, the 2026 Chairship is focused on translating the expanded representation of BRICS into meaningful cooperation and tangible outcomes, while building consensus among its diverse members and strengthening the effectiveness of existing mechanisms. 

BRICS has emerged as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South in multilateral institutions. Its agenda covers development, finance, technology, trade and people-to-people exchanges. 

The grouping currently comprises 11 countries, i.e.Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE. 

Collectively, the BRICS members account for around 49.5 per cent of the global population, 40 per cent of global GDP and 26 per cent of global trade, according to background information on India's 2026 Chairship. (ANI)