New Delhi: Accepting the invitation for a public debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that either he or party president Mallikarjun Kharge will participate in the debate, for which only Gandhi was invited. He said, “Such a debate will help people understand our respective vision and enable them to make an informed choice.”
Responding to a letter addressed to him and Modi, Gandhi said, “As the principal parties fighting the election, the public deserve to hear from their leaders directly. Accordingly, either myself or the Congress President would be pleased to participate in such a debate.”
In his letter, Rahul said that he had discussed the proposal with the Congress president.
He wrote, “Please do let us know if and when the Prime Minister agrees to participate, following which we can discuss the details and format of the debate.”
“I look forward to participating in a productive and historic debate,” he added.
स्वस्थ लोकतंत्र के लिए प्रमुख दलों का एक मंच से अपना विज़न देश के समक्ष रखना एक सकारात्मक पहल होगी।
कांग्रेस इस पहल का स्वागत करती है और चर्चा का निमंत्रण स्वीकार करती है।
देश प्रधानमंत्री जी से भी इस संवाद में हिस्सा लेने की अपेक्षा करता है। pic.twitter.com/YMWWqzBRhE
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 11, 2024
Retired SC judge Madan B. Lokur, retired high court judge Ajit P. Shah and senior journalist N. Ram in a letter Thursday had invited the two leaders to a public debate to “meaningfully” respond to each other on the various charges thrown from campaign podiums.
“We write to you as citizens of India who have performed our duties to the country in various capacities,” the letter said, adding that the proposal was non-partisan and “in the larger interest of every citizen”.
The three pointed out that as the Lok Sabha polls reached a midpoint both leaders had asked questions “related to the core of our constitutional democracy”.
“The Prime Minister has publicly challenged the Congress on reservations, Article 370 and wealth distribution. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has questioned the Prime Minister on possible mutilation of the Constitution, Electoral Bond schemes and the government’s response to China, and also challenged him to a public debate,” the letter read.
Claiming that today’s digital world has opened room for “misinformation, misrepresentations and manipulation”, they wrote, “In these circumstances, it is fundamentally important to ensure that the public is well-educated about all the aspects of the debate so that they can make an informed choice at the ballots — this is central to the effective exercise of our electoral franchise.”
They added that citizens would hugely benefit if they directly heard from their political leaders “through a public debate on a non-partisan and non-commercial platform”.
Trusting that the two leaders would consider this request, the invited concluded by saying that the venue, duration, moderation and format of the discourse could be on terms agreeable to both sides.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: It’s a new Rahul Gandhi, a caste-warrior and class-samurai
Of course the PM is going to chicken out unless it’s scripted or about his mango eating skills.