A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenged Opposition leaders for a debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said that his party is ready for a debate on development.
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BSP president Mayawati, through a tweet, said her party was ready to accept the challenge “on any stage and at any place.” She said the BJP government was “troubled” by the “struggle” and protests organised by the youth and women across the country against the CAA, the proposed nationwide NRC and the NPR.
Mr. Yadav slammed the BJP for the CAA and said the government did not want to debate on the economy, jobs or demonetisation. “As for the question of debate, I say to the BJP people, pick a place and stage, and the BJP can also call its favourite channels [TV news channels]...we are ready to debate on development,” he told journalists here.
The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister accused the BJP of tampering with the Constitution because it had a majority. “But you can’t suppress people’s voice with majority,” he said.
At a rally here on Tuesday, Mr. Shah accused Opposition parties of spreading misconceptions about the new law, and instigating riots and arson. He dared Mr. Yadav to come on stage and speak on the CAA “for five minutes.” He asked other Opposition leaders like Mayawati, Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee to pick any platform for an open debate on the CAA.
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The Home Minister also taunted Mr. Yadav, asking him to read up on the CAA before speaking.
Veiled attack
Jumping into the discussion, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a tweet on Wednesday said the Home Minister was challenging those who “had not even stepped out of their home” to fight against him. And the one the Home Minister should be challenging was talking about the problems of other States, Ms. Vadra said in Hindi. Her tweet is presumed to be a veiled attack on Ms. Mayawati and Mr. Yadav, though it did not mention any names.
“Ajeeb dastan hai yeh, kahan shuru kahan khatam,” said Ms. Vadra quoting the lyrics of a classic Hindi song.
