Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 17: A new account calling itself the ‘Dimagi Naxal Janta Party’ (DNJP) has emerged on social media amid the political controversy surrounding prime minister Narendra Modi’s recent ‘dimagi naxal’ remark. The account, @DNJP_India, has garnered over 57,000 followers in a single day.
Notably, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee is among the thousands following this newly created account.
The account is currently following 13 people, including Congress leader and leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, comedian Kunal Kamra, actor Prakash Raj and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair.
It also follows political content creator Arpit Sharma, YouTuber Shyam Meera Singh, political commentator Tarun Gautam, Dr Nimo Yadav 2.0, parody account Rofl Gandhi 2.0 and the Cockroach Janta Party.
The newly emerged account has also reposted a message by Prakash Raj, who urged people to question rather than blindly accept what they are told. He wrote, “Dimagi bano .. Bewakoof nahi. Sawaal karo .. Gulami nahi.”
The account’s activity comes shortly after Modi referred to people with a ‘dimagi naxal’ mindset during his Independence Day address. The remark triggered a political response, with senior Congress leader P Chidambaram saying he was proud to be a ‘dimagi naxal’.
Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju later clarified that the prime minister had not specifically referred to opposition leaders as ‘dimagi naxals’. Rijiju said the term was intended for people who support Maoists and reject the Indian Constitution, back separatists, support Article 370 or advocate cutting the 'chicken neck' connecting the Northeast with the rest of India. He also shared a video featuring remarks by Sharjeel Imam about the ‘chicken neck’ and said that those supporting such views were the people being referred to as ‘dimagi naxals’.
Against this backdrop, the emergence of the Dimagi Naxal Janta Party account has added a new social media angle to the ongoing political debate over the phrase.