‘Now tell us’: Saurav Das and Gaurav Bhatia clash over fake ‘Dimagi Naxal’ quote

A fabricated social media quote triggered a sharp exchange between Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Saurav Das and BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia.

Das had shared a post claiming that Bhatia called Swatantra Bhardwaj a “dimagi naxal,” or “mentally radical,” and accused him of harboring casteist poison. Bhatia rejected the statement as fake and gave Das 24 hours to delete the post and issue an unconditional apology.

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You have 24 hours to delete and offer unconditional apology.

Das later removed the post and acknowledged on X that it had been generated by artificial intelligence. But instead of ending the dispute, he challenged BJP leaders to repeat the phrase. He also asked Bhatia directly whether he disagreed with the statement.

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Why should there be a problem in doing this? Ally Chirag Paswan has disowned the goon and filed an FIR too. Why is no one in the BJP saying anything? Are they owning the goons?

The exchange came after Bhardwaj faced criticism over remarks on a podcast in which he claimed to have “broken the skull” of Sanjay Kumar, the father of CJP activist Nishu Aazad. Bhardwaj later denied the statement. Delhi Police arrested him on Friday after booking him under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for alleged criminal intimidation.

The CJP said Kumar was assaulted during a student protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The organization held a sit-in outside the Parliament Street police station on Friday after the remarks circulated online. Bhardwaj also claimed he had not been jailed after the alleged incident, saying, “But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night.”

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But I was not even jailed. The world should know this. I was out and about through the night.