‘Encouraging anarchic ideas’: NDA attacks Naseeruddin Shah over ‘Dimagi Naxal’ remark

New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday came down heavily on Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah over his ‘Dimagi Naxal’ remark, accusing him of “encouraging ideas” that seek to create anarchy in the country.

This comes after the actor launched a scathing attack on the government, sharing a video of himself talking to the camera as he flaunted his badge of ‘Dimagi Naxal’ and called himself ‘proud Dimagi Naxal’, a term coined by Prime Minister Modi in his Independence Day address in August.

Speaking to IANS, BJP National Spokesperson RP Singh said: “The kind of language Naseeruddin Shah has used recently, along with his past statements that have been anti-national and supportive of Pakistan, and the way he has spoken about West Bengal this time, shows how his thinking is encouraging ideas that seek to create anarchy in the country.”

While acknowledging Shah’s craft, BJP MLA Ram Kadam said: “We fully respect his art. However, we cannot forget how he praised Pakistan during the release of a book in 2015. How can we forget that Naseeruddin Shah supports Mughal invaders who came to this country, persecuted people, and destroyed temples? You live in India, earn your livelihood and respect here, yet praise Pakistan.”

“He is not ‘Dimagi Naxal’, rather, he is ‘Dimagi Pakistani’,” Kadam remarked while speaking to IANS.

Union Minister and RPI-A chief Ramdas Athawale also acknowledged that Naseeruddin Shah is a good film actor who possesses a social conscience, while adding: “He should not have a Naxalite mindset. He has the right to suggest measures to the government for the welfare of society, but he has no right to criticise the BJP.”

“Naxalism has been eliminated from the country, so making such remarks is not right,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju strongly rebuked the veteran actor, calling him “extremely harmful to India’s democracy”.

Reacting to Rijiju’s criticism, Congress MP Jebi Mather said: “Anybody who says anything the BJP doesn’t like, they come up with many terms, like Tukde-Tukde, Urban Naxal… that is their way of functioning. So, nothing is surprising about this.”

Trinamool Congress-Mamata MP Saugata Roy also backed Naseerudin Shah, saying that the actor has just expressed his views. “This (expressing views) is not liked by the BJP; that is why Kiren Rijiju criticised it,” he told IANS.

–IANS

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