Arvind Kejriwal, who is on a three-day Punjab tour, had a spat on Twitter With Amarinder Singh.
Highlights
- In Punjab, Kejriwal attacks Congress, Amarinder dares him to a debate
- Punjab leaders can debate him, I'll debate Congress leadership: Kejriwal
- Punjab polls next year, three-way contest among Akali-BJP, Congress, AAP
A day after he launched the Aam Aadmi Party's election trade manifesto in Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh exchanged blows on Twitter, with a challenge for an open debate.
But the Delhi Chief Minister said he was ready to undertake such a thing only if his opponents were Mr Singh's political bosses -- Sonia or Rahul Gandhi.
The war was triggered as Mr Kejriwal, who is on a three-day Punjab tour attacked not only the ruling Akali Dal, but also the previous Congress regime for neglecting industry in the state, which has been known for the Green Revolution since the 1960s.
Mr Singh responded with a tweet:To which, Mr Kejriwal wrote back:The response set off a war of words:This was aimed at AAP's claim that it would bag 100 seats in the coming assembly elections in Punjab. A recent opinion poll conducted by a private news channel has claimed that the party's prospects are on the decline.
Mr Singh then challenged Mr Kejriwal for an open debate.But the Delhi Chief Minister, while accepting the challenge, suggested his Punjab teammates - Bhagwant Mann, Jarnail Singh, HS Phoolka and Gurpreet Ghuggi - represent him. He himself, he said, was ready for a debate with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi or her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Enraged, Mr Singh tweeted:To this, Mr Kejriwal shot off another tweet, alleging collusion between Congress and BJP. Then Mr Singh shot back:Dr Navjot Kaur - the wife of cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu - meanwhile told the media that they were talking to both Aam Admi Party and the Congress and will soon decide which side they are on. She also praised the manifesto for industry released by Mr Kejriwal in Ludhiana on Sunday.
Mr Sidhu, who recently quit the BJP, had recently met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Sources said the only gap that remains is Mr Sidhu's reluctance to merge his recently floated Awaaz-e-Punjab with the Congress.
Today, in a media statement, Amarinder Singh reiterated that he had no reservations about Mr Sidhu and other leaders of Awaz-e-Punjab joining the party. "I was the one who told Sidhu, when he left the BJP, that he should join the Congress," said Mr Singh, who is the state chief of the Congress.