NEW DELHI | The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day remarks branding voices raised against the government as “dimaagi Naxals,” with AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal directly responding to the remark and turning the label into a statement of patriotism. The AAP chief said he was proud to be called a “dimaagi Naxal” if it meant being a patriot who questions a rotten system, stands against corruption and dreams of a corruption-free India.
The AAP Chief said that if Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb Ambedkar were alive today, the Prime Minister would not spare them either and would label them “mental Naxals” for questioning the system. Kejriwal also made it clear that while he would oppose the government’s actions, he would use his full strength to confront anyone who acts or speaks against the country.
In a video message on social media, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said, “According to the Prime Minister, a ‘dimaagi naxal’ is anyone who has the courage to question things in this country. Anyone who wants to change the rotten system, wants good government schools, hospitals, electricity, water, sewerage, drainage and good governance, or dreams of a corruption-free India, is a ‘dimaagi naxal’ according to the Prime Minister. Anyone who is not afraid of the Prime Minister and the BJP and dreams of a developed India is a ‘dimaagi naxal’ according to the Prime Minister.”
Drawing a comparison with India’s icons of social and political change, he asserted, “If Bhagat Singh were alive today, the Prime Minister would call him a ‘dimaagi naxal’ too. If Babasaheb Ambedkar, who fought for equality for everyone, were alive today, the Prime Minister would not spare him either and would call him a ‘dimaagi naxal’ as well. I want to tell the Prime Minister that I, Arvind Kejriwal, am a ‘dimaagi naxal’ according to him because I am a patriot, and I am proud of it. If anyone does or says anything against the country, Arvind Kejriwal will confront them with all his strength.”
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “Our Prime Minister is extremely troubled by the movement of the youth and Gen Z at this time, and now Gen Alpha has also taken to the streets. They are asking to stop examination leaks, fix our schools and improve our lives. The Prime Minister is so troubled that sometimes he gets up at 12 midnight to make reels, and at other times he calls these very young people ‘dimaagi naxal’.”
Questioning the Prime Minister’s use of the term, the AAP MP asked, “Prime Minister, whom do you call a ‘dimaagi naxal’? The young people who are saying that paper leaks should stop in the country and that we should be given employment? The small children who are taking to the streets and saying that their school roofs are collapsing, that there is no proper room for children to sit, that they are being served ‘namak-roti’ in the mid-day meal and that they are finding insects in their food, and are asking for these conditions to be fixed. Are you addressing them as ‘dimaagi naxal’?”
“The Prime Minister cannot tolerate the fact that the people, youth, small children, farmers, and the mothers and sisters of this country have started raising their voices for themselves,” he asserted.
Calling out the Prime Minister for intolerance towards dissent, Sanjay Singh added, “The Prime Minister is a person filled with hatred. He cannot tolerate the fact that small children and young people are taking to the streets against him, which is why he has addressed them as ‘dimaagi naxal’. I want to tell the youth, especially those who are running the movement to fix schools, that CJP people should not be afraid, should not bow down, should keep fighting and keep moving forward.”
Targeting the BJP, he stated, “The real ‘dimaagi naxal’ are the people in the BJP who killed Abdul’s father. The ‘dimaagi naxal’ are those who went to Rajasthan and assaulted small children and CJP workers. The ‘dimaagi naxal’ are those who have cases registered against people for speaking about schools. Therefore, the real ‘dimaagi naxal’ is the ‘Bharatiya Jhagda Party’ that instigates fights. The youth of this country are not ‘dimaagi naxal’; they are raising their voices for their rights and will continue to do so.”
In a post on X, Sanjay Singh asked, “The Prime Minister called the youth of the country ‘dimaagi naxal’. Is Gen Z, which is raising its voice against paper leaks, ‘dimaagi naxal’? Are the small children demanding that their schools be fixed ‘dimaagi naxal’? Or is the ‘Bharatiya Jhagda Party’, which instigates fights, the ‘dimaagi naxal’?”
