Accused by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of blocking Arvind Kejriwal's press conference in Chandigarh, Amarinder Singh had a retort for his Delhi counterpart. "If he (Mr Kejriwal) wants, I'd be happy to arrange his lunch too," said the Punjab Chief Minister, accusing his state's largest opposition party of "drama".
AAP said Arvind Kejrwal is to address a press conference at the city's Punjab Bhawan at 1 pm tomorrow and vowed to go ahead with it, "no matter how much the Captain insists".
Earlier today, AAP's Punjab unit chief Raghav Chadha said in a tweet that Amarinder Singh's "fear of Kejriwal" has reached a point "where his office has denied us permission to hold press conference at the pre-decided venue". Nevertheless, Arvind Kejriwal will make a mega announcement tomorrow in Chandigarh "which will send 440 volt current to the Captain and his party," he added.
"Totally not true," Mr Singh hit back. "We let Arvind Kejriwal address a rally here just few days back so why should we stop him now having a press conference? If he wants I'd be happy to arrange his lunch too. The Aam Aadmi Party just wants to do drama even if it means lying," he added.
Sparring between the Chief Minister and AAP has been steadily escalating ahead of the Punjab election next year, in which the Amarinder Singh-led Congress will seek re-election.
AAP has taken up the inflated power bills issue to target the Punjab government, which is facing a series of protests from government employees, unemployed teachers and opposition parties.
Mr Kejriwal has promised 200 units of free electricity for all in Punjab if his party comes to power.
In a tweet, he said, "In Delhi, we provide 200 units of free electricity to every family. The women are very happy. Women in Punjab are unhappy with inflation. The AAP government will provide 200 units of free electricity for all in Punjab".
In the 2017 state election, AAP, led by Bhagwant Mann, had won only 20 of 117 assembly seats in Punjab, becoming the state's main opposition. The Akali Dal-BJP alliance finished with 15 seats and lost power to the Congress, which won 77.
Amarinder Singh and Mr Kejriwal have also exchanged allegations linked to the farmers' protest.
The Punjab Chief Minister called his Delhi counterpart a "slimy fellow who was in the habit of lying" and accused him of not knowing the difference between "wheat and paddy". He also called Mr Kejriwal's visits to the state "cheap theatrics".
Mr Singh also questioned why AAP has notified in Delhi one of the farm laws that were at the core of the farmer protests.
Mr Kejriwal, in reply, declared that the farm laws were the Mr Singh's "gift to the nation" as he was "part of the committee which drafted these bills".
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