BH Correspondent
New Delhi: With less than 48 hours to go before Delhi, votes to elect a new government, Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has challenged the BJP, the AAP’s principal rival for power, to name its chief ministerial candidate by 1 pm on Wednesday.
Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 8, but the BJP is yet to declare who will lead the government should it manage to unseat the AAP regime.
What’s more, Kejriwal has said that he is willing to engage with the BJP’s CM candidate in a debate so that voters get to know what both the contenders for power are offering the people of Delhi.
“The people of Delhi want the BJP to declare its CM candidate and I am ready to hold a debate with that CM candidate. The debate can be held at any place, whichever place they choose,” Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday during a press conference to release the AAP’s manifesto.
भाजपा अपना CM चेहरा घोषित करे। जनता चाहती है कि दोनों पार्टियों के CM कैंडिडट में बहस हो। मैं तैयार हूँ pic.twitter.com/QC8USiqpbN
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 4, 2020
“The people want to know who is their CM face. They are saying if they don’t know who their chief ministerial candidate is, why should they vote for them? Amit Shah is saying that you vote for us and I will decide who the CM candidate is. In a democracy, it’s the people who decide who the CM candidate is,” Kejriwal added, taunting, “Amit Shah is demanding a blank cheque from the people of Delhi.”
“The people of Delhi are saying what if Amit Shah names someone uneducated and incompetent after they have voted for the BJP. That would be a betrayal of the people of Delhi,” Kejriwal said, adding, “So, we give them time till 1 pm tomorrow. If they declare their CM candidate by then, I am ready to debate with that person. We will work out the modalities. And, if they don’t declare the name, I will meet you at this place and there will be another press conference.”
The AAP took the battle with the BJP to cyberspace as well. On Monday, the party had mocked the BJP over the issue on Twitter as it posted a picture of American wrestler and actor John Cena’s photograph. It also took a dig on the BJP by using Cena’s signature catchphrase “You can’t see me”.
With agency inputs
