‘Come prepared with data’: Congress' Sandeep Dikshit invites Arvind Kejriwal to open debate

The Congress vs AAP battle has been heating up ahead of the assembly elections in the national capital on February 5.

Published on: Jan 29, 2025, 23:44:22 IST

By HT News Desk

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The assembly elections in Delhi are right around the corner and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) vs Congress battle is only heating up. Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Wednesday challenged former chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to an open debate at Jantar Mantar between 2 and 3 pm on Friday, January 31.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal will contest against Congress' Sandeep Dikshit from the New Delhi seat in the upcoming polls. (PTI)

Notably, Dikshit is contesting the February 5 elections against Kejriwal from the New Delhi assembly constituency.

The 70-member assembly will go to polls on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8.

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Dikshit wrote a letter to Kejriwal and invited him to an open debate, saying that ever since Congress announced his name for the running, he has been challenging Kejriwal's claims of the works he did as the chief minister and as the MLA from the New Delhi constituency.

"I have systematically -- using Delhi government data -- not only questioned but also shown your various claims to be either totally false or huge exaggerations, bordering on being lies," Dikshit wrote in his letter.

The Congress leader said he hoped that Kejriwal would respond to his questions on his own, or in any public appearance or in a debate.

"I am inviting you to an open public debate between 2 pm and 3 pm at Jantar Mantar on Friday. I will wait for you to come there and debate out on all that you have been highlighting as achievements," he added.

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He cautioned Kejriwal and asked him to come prepared with data to back up his claims. "I shall use your own government's documents to show whether you are right or you are wrong. The only rule in this debate shall be that every point made and every counterpoint made has to be based on factual reliable data, and not on your chimerics," Dikshit added.

As the national capital is headed towards a triangular electoral battle, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and AAP have been locking horns head-on. The grand old party has been slamming AAP and Kejriwal over their term in the office in the capital and for the liquor policy scam. Meanwhile, the AAP has also been hitting out at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress over the party's time in power in Delhi and its alleged “agreement” with the BJP.

(with PTI inputs)

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HT News Desk
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