Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Sunday challenged opposition leaders to an open debate on live television on 1 November over several issues “to end day-to-day bickering” with the Opposition.
The move has, however, invited sharp reactions from opposition leaders who, while accepting the CM’s challenge, lashed out over his “dependance” on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) “dual” stand over the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
Mann posted his challenge on X saying: “I extend an open invitation to Jakhar ji of the BJP, Sukhbir Badal of the Akali Dal, Raja Warring-Partap Bajwa of the Congress that instead of the day-to-day bickering, let us sit before Punjabis and the media and discuss on live television issues like who has looted Punjab, nepotism, toll plazas, youth, farmers, trade, shopkeepers, Gurbani and river waters. You can bring papers with you; I will speak extempore. November 1, Punjab day would be fine. You will also get time to prepare. I am fully prepared, because when one has to speak only the truth, one doesn’t need to learn anything by heart.”
Punjab BJP in-charge Sunil Jakhar was the first to react to Mann’s challenge.
Quoting an Urdu couplet, Sunil Jakhar said that Mann was beating around the bush and not coming to the point. “We are ready to discuss every issue of Punjab at any time. But before that, please tell us why and under whose political pressure did you sell out Punjab’s stand on the grave issue of river waters in the Supreme Court?” Jakhar wrote on X, ending with “Punjab wants answers”.
Leader of the Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa also wrote on X, accepting Mann’s challenge.
“This discussion should not be held in a government building, including the Vidhan Sabha, but in a public place. Also, the discussion should be presided over by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or any person whom all the four parties agree upon,” wrote the Congress leader.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and Lok Sabha member Sukhbir Singh Badal, too, said he was up for the challenge, but added: “November 1 is still very far. I am coming to your house on 10 October. If you have the courage, do come out of your house and meet me. Every issue of Punjab, including the sharing of river waters, will be discussed there and then in front of the media. But do call the real chief minister of Punjab Arvind Kejriwal also, because you are worth nothing. You are only a puppet and it takes you only a minute to go back on your word.”
Badal had Friday announced that he along with his supporters will gherao Mann’s residence on 10 October over AAP’s “duplicity and hypocrisy” on the SYL issue.
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The SYL issue
The Mann government has been in the eye of the storm since last week when the SC gave a dressing down to the Punjab government over not completing the construction of the SYL canal.
The portion of the canal falling within Punjab has not been constructed and the matter has been hanging fire for decades. Successive governments in Punjab have refused to share the water of the Sutlej River with Haryana and Delhi on the grounds that Punjab farmers face acute shortage of irrigation water each year and the state does not have any excess water to share.
The matter has been a subject of litigation in SC between Punjab, Haryana and Delhi for several years.
During the resumed hearing of the case last Tuesday, it was reported that the Punjab government, instead of taking a stand refusing to build the canal, said that the delay in the construction of the canal was because of political opposition and opposition from farmers against the government acquiring land for the construction of the canal.
Mann came under severe criticism for this, with the opposition attacking him for not defending Punjab’s case effectively in the top court.
In a long post on X, Bajwa said that he had laid out a comprehensive framework for the forthcoming debate. “The debate should be in a more spacious and accessible location such as the PGI Auditorium or Tagore Theatre in Sector 18, Chandigarh (Union Territory) and not as earlier held in Town Halls. This is necessary to accommodate a free democratic discourse while at the same time thwart interference from the Punjab Police.”
“Further, to ensure impartiality and fairness, I recommend appointing a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge from Punjab as the debate moderator, who should be accepted by all parties. This measure will guarantee that the debate remains unbiased and focused on the issues that genuinely concern the people of Punjab,” he said.
“To ensure fairness and transparency, the debates should be open to all media outlets, regardless of the political affiliation of the Keji-media or the Modi-media. This will eliminate any biases and ensure that the discussions are accessible to a wider audience, thus avoiding the limitations of debates confined to particular media houses,” he added.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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