‘Not Even Congress’ PM Face’: Tejasvi Surya Fires Salvo As Rahul Gandhi Accepts Debate Invite With Modi

Soon after Congress accepted the invitation for a public debate on the Lok Sabha elections 2024 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tejasvi Surya asked who is Rahul Gandhi that the Prime Minister should debate with him.

Raising questions on Gandhi scion’s rank within Congress and in the INDIA bloc, BJP’s Yuva Morcha national president said Rahul Gandhi should first get himself declared Oppoistion’s Prime Ministerial candidate before inviting Modi for a debate.

“Who is Rahul Gandhi, that PM Modi should debate with him? Rahul Gandhi isn’t even the PM candidate of the Congress Party, let alone the INDI Alliance. Let him first get himself declared as Congress’s PM candidate, state he will take accountability for his party’s defeat, and then invite PM for a debate. Until then, we are ready to depute our BJYM spokespersons to take him on in any debate,” the Bengaluru South MP said in a post on X.

Rahul Accepts The Invitation For Debate With PM Modi

The reaction came after Rahul Gandhi formally replied to a letter by two former judges and a senior journalist inviting him and the PM to be part of a public debate.

Lauding the initiative, Gandhi on Saturday said he or party chief Mallikarjun Kharge would be pleased to participate in such a discussion and expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would also take part.

“It would be a positive initiative for the major parties to present their vision to the country from one platform for a healthy democracy,” Gandhi said in a post on X.

He also added that the nation expects Modi to participate in the debate.

Gandhi said he discussed the invitation with Kharge and they agreed that such a debate would help people understand “our respective vision and enable them to make an informed choice”.

“It is also critical to put to rest any unsubstantiated allegations attributed to our respective parties. As the principal parties fighting the election, the public deserve to hear from their leaders directly,” Gandhi said in his letter replying to the invitation.

“Accordingly, either myself or the Congress president would be pleased to participate in such a debate,” he added.

He also shared on X his reply to Justice (Retd) Madan B Lokur, Justice (Retd) Ajit P Shah and N Ram, who had written to him and the prime minister earlier this week, inviting them to a platform for a debate on the key election issues.

In his post on X, accompanied by the letter, Gandhi said, “Congress welcomes this initiative and accepts the invitation for discussion. The country also expects the prime minister to take part in this dialogue.”

In their letter addressed to the country’s leaders, the trio had stated that the proposal for the debate was non-partisan and in the broader interest of every citizen.

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