PM Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort has drawn a sharp response from Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das, who says branding questioning youth as “dimagi Naxals” is nothing but political sleight of hand.
What PM Modi Said at the Red Fort
Speaking on the country’s 80th Independence Day, Modi said armed Naxalism had lost the strength to survive after decades of bloodshed. He flagged a new concern instead: people carrying a “Naxal mindset” without picking up weapons. Such individuals, he said, needed to be identified and isolated so the country’s youth could be steered toward national development.
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Saurav Das Hits Back
Das did not hold back in his response on X, writing:
“Dimagi Naxal or whatever is not going to work, Prime Minister. How could you loosely brand educated young people ‘Naxalis’ etc? Just because they question your government? Sheer arrogance! Sheer incompetence at resolving their problems?”
His central argument: dissent is not disloyalty, and reaching for a loaded label to describe critical citizens sidesteps the real issues they are raising in the first place.
Opposition Parties Join the Attack
Mainstream opposition parties echoed the criticism. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called the term hollow, comparing it to the earlier “urban Naxal” label that the government itself later admitted had no legal definition.
TMC’s Saket Gokhale accused Modi of using Independence Day for “cheap shots,” while CPI general secretary D. Raja said the phrase was simply the latest addition to a list of labels used to stigmatise dissenters, alongside “anti-national” and “tukde-tukde gang.” BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari defended the remark, calling ideological Naxal thinking a genuine security threat.
A Phrase That Won’t Fade Soon
With Congress, TMC, CPI, and CJP all weighing in, “dimagi Naxal” looks set to dominate political discourse well beyond Independence Day, as both sides dig in over what counts as dissent versus threat.
