Ex-CM Mehbooba Mufti calls herself ‘dimaagi Naxal’ over Article 370 support

Srinagar: Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Sunday that she is a “dimaagi Naxal” as she supports Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

“I support Article 370. I’m a dimaagi Naxal,” Mehbooba posted on her X handle.

The PDP president was reacting to a post by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call opposition leaders “dimaagi Naxal”.

“PM @narendramodi ji didn’t say opposition leaders as dimagi Naxals,” Rijiju said in the post on X.

He went to categorise the people who can be called dimaagi Naxals. “Only the following are dimagi Naxals: 1. Who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution. 2. Who stand with separatists & support Article 370. 4. Who want to cut the chicken neck to separate North-East from India,” he said.

Mufti’s remark came a day after the prime minister’s “dimagi Naxal” remark in his Independence Day speech.

He warned the country about the “dimagi Naxals” who have allegedly entrenched themselves in the system and continue to pose a threat to society by manipulating policies.

PM Modi urged the citizens to “identify and isolate” them. The prime minister said the country had succeeded in removing armed Naxalism from the forests but warned that its ideological supporters were seeking opportunities to promote violence and anarchy.

The prime minister’s remark has sparked a war of words between the Opposition and the BJP.