"Real 'dimagi Naxals' are BJP members": AAP MP Sanjay Singh targets Centre over Modi remark

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on August 17 criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent use of the term “dimagi Naxal”, accusing the BJP of using the label against young people who raise questions over jobs, recruitment examinations and the state of government schools.

Speaking in Sivasagar, Assam, Singh alleged that the “real dimagi Naxals” were BJP leaders whom he accused of “inciting conflict and spreading hatred” across the country.

“The real ‘dimagi Naxal’ are the members of the BJP themselves—the very people inciting conflict and spreading hatred across the country,” Singh said.

He alleged that the Prime Minister’s reference to “dimagi Naxals” amounted to targeting the country’s youth. Singh said young people raising concerns over unemployment, recruitment examinations and alleged paper leaks should not be branded as extremists for demanding accountability from the government.

“Today, after nearly 80 years of independence, the condition of India’s government schools is such that one lakh schools have shut down,” Singh said, questioning how the country’s education system could progress under such circumstances.

The AAP leader also linked the controversy to ongoing concerns among students and job aspirants over employment opportunities and alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.

Singh’s remarks come amid a wider political controversy over the “dimagi Naxal” expression used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address. Modi had said that while armed Naxalism was nearing an end, ideological supporters of the movement posed a different challenge and needed to be identified and isolated.

The remarks have since triggered criticism from opposition leaders, with Congress leader P Chidambaram also responding to the Prime Minister’s statement and the BJP hitting back at him.