Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a pointed dig at the Opposition during his address at Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce, describing a section of critics as a “Naraz Fufa”, an eternally upset uncle whose favourite pastime is finding fault with everything.
The Prime Minister was at SRCC to mark its centenary celebrations, returning to the campus for the first time since 2013, when he had visited as Gujarat’s chief minister.
What PM Modi said
Touching on the economy, PM Modi pointed to the latest growth figures as proof of the country’s resilience, “The 7.8 per cent quarterly growth has boosted the country’s confidence. Those who became infamous for pushing India into the ‘Fragile Five’ are finding these figures difficult to digest.”
He also contrasted his government’s working style with that of previous administrations, saying: “Those who governed the country for a long time had a particular style: wake up only when there is a fire, and dig a well only when there is a drought. I had spoken about changing this approach. And after our government was formed in 2014, we demonstrated that change in practice.”
The sharpest lines, though, were reserved for his “Naraz Fufa” jibe. PM Modi told students they would encounter two types of people in life: “One kind transforms the strength of society into the strength of the nation. The other becomes ‘Naraz Fufa’ whenever any work is started and opposes everything.”
He went further, mimicking the Opposition’s reflexive scepticism towards big projects: “Their favourite thing is to oppose everything. They have only one dialogue: What is the need for this? When we were building the world’s tallest statue, the ‘Fufa’ said, ‘What is the need for this?’ When we started working on the high-speed train, the ‘Fufa’ again said, What is the need for this?”
In what appeared to be a veiled reference to Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, whose student outreach campaign is titled ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, PM Modi remarked, “Main jaanta hoon, sach ki hunkkaar ke aage jhooth ki goonj tik nahi sakegi” (I know that the echo of lies cannot stand before the roar of truth).
He also revisited his earlier “Dimagi Naxal” remark from his Red Fort speech, framing it in medical terms: “You may have heard my speech from the Red Fort. I gave a homoeopathic pill from the Red Fort, ‘Dimagi Naxal’. According to the principles of homoeopathy, when you begin homoeopathic treatment, the disease initially gets worse. That is the nature of homoeopathy. Similarly, as soon as I gave the ‘Dimagi Naxal’ homoeopathic pill, all the ‘Dimagi Naxals’ started coming out one after another. And now the public is also seeing the true colours of those who are promoting this illness.”
On security, the Prime Minister claimed a shift in India’s standing: “Today, those spreading terrorism are on the back foot. If Pakistan indulges in any misadventure, India’s armed forces enter their territory and strike.” He added that calm had returned to once-troubled regions: “Peace has increased from Jammu and Kashmir to the Northeast. The back of Maoist terrorism and Naxalism has been broken. The world that was once concerned about India’s policy paralysis is today talking about India’s policy dynamism.”
Reflecting on the challenges of recent years, PM Modi said, “Over the past six years, India has faced major crises, including COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and the West Asia crisis. Every time, people said India would not survive. Those who are my biggest admirers thought, ‘Now PM Modi is trapped, now PM Modi has fallen’. But the blessings of the people ensured that every wish of those who wanted India to fail remained unfulfilled.”
He closed on an encouraging note for the students gathered, urging them to dream without limits: “I am happy that you are ambitious because ambition cannot be taught from any textbook. Ambitions come from an environment that inspires you to dream big. Thirteen years ago, your seniors could not dream such dreams. But today, you are dreaming these dreams because today’s India has an ecosystem that supports those dreams.”
Congress hits back
The Congress wasted little time responding. At a press conference held shortly after, party leader Kanhaiya Kumar dismissed the visit as nothing more than image-building.
“Schools and colleges are closing in the country, you can’t even conduct one exam properly, and by going to the university, you’re running your PR campaign by taking students into ‘custody’,” he said.
Kumar claimed students at Delhi University had been expecting the Prime Minister to address concerns around the education system, only to be left disappointed. “For the past two days, students at Delhi University had been assuming that PM Modi was coming to talk about the education system. But he didn’t say anything about it. He didn’t even mention the beating of students at Jantar Mantar,” he said.
He further alleged that the visit sidestepped issues affecting students and citizens more broadly, adding that the timing was no coincidence: “SRCC, which has given so much to the country, has also been turned into PM Modi’s election platform by him, because the Student Union election is on September 18 at Delhi University.”
