The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for invoking the term “Dimagi Naxal” during his address at the centenary celebrations of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), saying the government should instead be addressing concerns over education, employment and opportunities for young people.
CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das questioned the Prime Minister’s decision to revive the expression while speaking before students and accused him of using labels against those who questioned the government. Das said young Indians needed “hope” rather than what he described as “stupid labels”, and argued that the occasion should have been used to speak about the challenges confronting students.
Questions over youth issues
Das said the Prime Minister should have addressed issues such as educational infrastructure, employment opportunities and the difficulties faced by young people entering the workforce. He also questioned the government’s record on schools and education spending and claimed that nearly one lakh schools had closed over the past 12 years.
The CJP spokesperson further claimed that around nine crore young Indians were currently neither in education, employment nor training. He accused the government of failing to adequately address these concerns while seeking to characterise its critics through political labels.
The remarks came a day after Modi addressed students at SRCC, returning to the college 13 years after his widely discussed 2013 speech there. During Saturday’s address, the Prime Minister contrasted India’s economic and security situation with that of 2013 and said the country had moved from being counted among the “fragile five” economies to becoming the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Modi revisits old jibe
Modi also returned to his “Dimagi Naxal” formulation, which he had earlier used during his Independence Day address. Drawing a comparison with homeopathic treatment, the Prime Minister said that when medicine was administered, symptoms could initially appear to intensify before the illness was treated.
He said his use of “Dimagi Naxal” had similarly led such people to reveal themselves, adding that their “true colours” were now visible. Modi did not name any individual while making the remarks.
The Prime Minister also told the students that after leaving campus they would encounter people who channelled society’s strength towards nation-building as well as those who questioned every initiative. Referring to the latter as perpetually dissatisfied “naraz fufas”, Modi said India had continued to move forward despite such opposition.
Das, however, said a Prime Minister addressing students should be speaking about their aspirations and giving them confidence about their future rather than dividing young people into categories based on whether they agreed with the government.
“Give hope, not stupid labels,” he said.