Mehbooba Mufti says she’s ‘dimagi Naxal’ for backing Article 370
Was reacting to a post by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has said she is a “dimagi Naxal” because she supports Article 370 of the Constitution.
Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated in 2019, when the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In a post on X on Sunday night, Mufti said, “I support Article 370. I’m a dimagi Naxal.”
In the post, Mufti also shared a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
The PDP chief was reacting to a post by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not called opposition leaders “dimagi Naxals”.
“PM @narendramodi ji didn’t say opposition leaders as dimagi Naxals,” Rijiju said in a post on X.
He went on to list the categories of people who could be called “dimagi Naxals”.
“Only the following are dimagi Naxals: 1. Who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution. 2. Who stand with separatists and support Article 370. 4. Who want to cut the chicken neck to separate North-East from India,” he said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had referred to “dimagi Naxals” in his Independence Day speech. He warned about “dimagi Naxals” who had allegedly entrenched themselves in the system and continued to pose a threat to society by manipulating policies.
PM Modi urged citizens to “identify and isolate” them and “connect the country’s young generation with the mainstream path of building a developed nation”.
On Monday, when asked about Mufti’s remarks, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah declined to comment.
“So, why are you asking me to explain or speak about what she tweets? It’s her Twitter account. Her daughter runs it,” Omar told reporters in Srinagar. “Let her tweet what she likes. What’s wrong with that?”
PDP leaders, meanwhile, backed their party chief. PDP social media head Javed Firdouz said on X that if speaking for the rights of Jammu and Kashmir and supporting the restoration of Article 370 made him a “dimagi Naxal”, then he was one.
“I believe in democracy, the Constitution and the fundamental rights of our people. I support Article 370. Yes, I am a dimagi Naxal,” Firdouz said.
