Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Sparks at debate between South Mumbai candidates Sawant and Deora

Sena’s Arvind Sawant and Congress’ Milind Deora were speaking to traders at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai.

In a first, Shiv Sena Member of Parliament (MP) from Mumbai South Arvind Sawant and Mumbai Congress president and the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from the constituency, Milind Deora, locked horns at a debate on Tuesday.

Congress candidate from South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat Milind Deora (in photo) and Shiv Sena candidate Arvind Sawant faced each other in a debate on April 16, 2019. (Bhushan Koyande / HT Photo)

Sawant and Deora were speaking to traders at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai.

While Sawant accused the Congress of lacking strong national leadership to match Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deora took a dig at the Sena saying it is forced to ask for votes in the name of Modi, with no solid support from its constituents in south Mumbai.

Sawant urged Mumbaiites to take into account his outstanding performance as MP, while casting votes. “An MP has to look into local as well as national issues, and should be able to raise his or her voice in Parliament,” he said.

While Deora accused the Sena of “terrorising” foreign investors, Sawant said, “Unless you give proper infrastructure to people, they won’t come forward and invest in our country. The NDA government’s efforts in the last five years are to develop proper infrastructure.”

Deora on the other hand said, “In the past five years, all MPs elected from Mumbai — only due to the Modi wave — have not raised the cities’ problems in Delhi.”

Read | Lok Sabha elections 2019: Mumbai South constituency in Maharashtra