NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party chief spokesperson Saurav Das hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using the term “dimagi Naxals” during his Independence Day address, arguing that young people should not be labelled Naxalis for questioning the government.Speaking from the Red Fort on India’s 80th Independence Day, PM Modi said armed Naxalism was nearing its end but warned of people with a “dimagi Naxal” mindset who, he said, were looking for opportunities to create violence and unrest.He said such people needed to be identified and isolated, while young people should be brought into the mainstream.Responding to the remarks, Das said in a post on X, “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?”“Bells are ringing. The awakening is here!” he said.In another Independence Day message, Das said the country was perhaps celebrating the occasion “in its truest sense” after 12 years.He said “something within us has finally broken free: The fear.”According to Das, a generation that had been told to remain silent had found its voice, while those who had been told that nothing would change had begun to believe again.“An era of awakening has begun. An era of peaceful protest has begun,” Das said.He added that people would eventually “weed out” the “old, the corrupt, the incompetent and the arrogant”.Das also said “a Jantar Mantar is being born in every district of this country”, describing it as a place where people who felt hopeless could find hope in one another and those who felt powerless could discover the strength of standing together.He accused those in power of attempting to divide Gen-Z and young people by saying, “Your Gen-Z vs Our Gen- Z.”“Because they know what history holds: There is nothing more powerful than a people who refuse to be divided!” Das said.“They will divide. We will unite. They will spread fear. We will spread courage. The mind is without fear now. And there is no going back,” he said.(With inputs from PTI)
