‘I support Article 370. I’m a dimagi Naxal’: Mehbooba Mufti hits back at Kiren Rijiju
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘I support Article 370. I’m a dimagi Naxal’: Mehbooba Mufti hits back at Kiren Rijiju")
Mehbooba Mufti Photograph: (ANI)
In his speech, Modi warned that while armed Naxalism had been largely eliminated from the country’s forests, an ideological threat from what he described as ‘dimagi Naxals’ remained. He called for such elements to be identified and isolated.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has hit back at Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s clarification on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘dimagi Naxal’ remark, saying she supports Article 370 and, by implication, accepts the label Rijiju associated with its supporters.
Responding to Rijiju’s post on X, Mufti wrote: “I support Article 370. I’m a ‘dimagi Naxal.” Her remark came amid a political controversy over the terminology used by Prime Minister Modi in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15. In his speech, Modi warned that while armed Naxalism had been largely eliminated from the country’s forests, an ideological threat from what he described as ‘dimagi Naxals’ remained. He called for such elements to be identified and isolated.
The remarks triggered criticism from opposition leaders, who argued that the term could be used to stigmatise political dissent and ideological disagreement. Congress leader P. Chidambaram, among others, responded by saying he was ‘proud’ to be called a ‘dimagi Naxal’.
Amid the political backlash, Rijiju clarified on Sunday that Modi had not described opposition leaders as ‘dimagi Naxal’. He said the Prime Minister’s reference was aimed at people who support Maoists while rejecting the Indian Constitution, those who support separatists and Article 370, and those advocating the separation of the Northeast from the rest of India by targeting the Siliguri Corridor, popularly known as the 'Chicken’s Neck'.
Mufti’s response directly focused on the reference to Article 370. By reiterating her support for the constitutional provision, she effectively turned Rijiju’s clarification into a political counterattack. Article 370, which provided Jammu and Kashmir with special constitutional status, was effectively abrogated by the Centre in August 2019. Its restoration has remained a central political demand of the PDP and several other political forces in Jammu and Kashmir.
The latest exchange has added a distinctly Kashmir-centric dimension to the wider debate over the ‘dimagi Naxal’ label.
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