Battle intensifies !!
Smriti Iran, BJP lawmaker and union minister who had humbled Congress stalwart Rahul Gandhi in 2019, says: "....Who wants to sit at level with PM Modi and have a debate?"
Mocking at the former Congress president, Smriti Irani also said : I want to ask him if he is a PM candidate of the INDIA bloc," Irani, who is the BJP candidate from Amethi, told news agency ANI. The Minister's remarks came as media reports surfaced that Rahul Gandhi has 'accepted an invitation' to have a public debate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over key election issues.
She questioned if Rahul Gandhi was the INDIA bloc's prime ministerial candidate and whether he could debate with a person of stature like PM Modi.
"Firstly, the person who does not have the courage to contest against a normal BJP worker in his so-called castle, should refrain from boasting," said Ms Irani.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting from Kerala's Wayanad and Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli seats, formally accepted an invitation to a public debate with PM Modi on the Lok Sabha polls. The invitation was extended by former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur, former High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, and senior journalist N Ram.
"Congress talked about counting the wealth of the people. It showed the way to take away half of the property of the citizens. Congress speaks of reversing the decision on Ram Temple. All of these issues are national issues and not just the PM, but every citizen has the right to have an opinion on them," Ms Irani said.
Rahul Gandhi said such a debate "will help people understand our respective vision and enable them to make an informed choice". He also said that either he himself or Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge would be pleased to participate.
Meanwhile, Irani slammed Kharge for raising questions over the voter turnout data in the Lok Sabha elections. "If Kharge ji thinks that the aware voters and citizens should not take an interest in national politics, then maybe he thinks that everyone has thoughts like Rahul Gandhi," she added.
Kharge had earlier written to leaders of the INDIA bloc and claimed there were discrepancies in the voting data released by the poll body. He shared the letter on X and had said the "credibility of the Election Commission" was at an all-time low.
The intent of the likes of N Ram can be always questioned. In 2019 after Balakot strike, Ram's conduct was highly controversial. His paper 'The Hindu' risked Wing Commander Abhimunya's life. His piece on Rafale and selectively highlighting the file noting was too unbecoming of a senior editor of a so-called prestigious publication. By giving a platform for a debate with PM Modi; they want to give Kharge or Rahul an elevated pedestal.
And Congress leaders should pray that no such debate is held; they will be exposed. In the words of Biju Janata Dal leader Pinaki Misra, : "...I have always believed that the Congress party is adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They are also very adept at cutting their nose to spite their face. They know that every time the Prime Minister has got up to speak, he has pushed the Congress through the shredder".
Privately if not otherwise, harshest of Modi critics believe the Prime Minister owes its victory series to two factors - sustained attention to programmes designed to meet the needs of the poor and ensure effective implementation of small and big development projects and another factor being the reputation of being incorruptibility.
In 2019, the Rafale allegation and Rahul's scream 'Chowkidar Chor hae' simply backfired on the Congress. One can also say that as Modi has survived 23 years of long stint in public office and especially the last decade in Delhi; short of accusing entire India turned pro-Hindutva and fascist, the Congress and even communists will not have any major excuse to attribute for their own failure and Modi's success.
Here is an illustration how Moditva makes a difference. Modi was able to beat the anti-incumbency in Gujarat and is doing so at the national level. In Gujarat, he had given the fastest growth trajectory.
Now at the national level too, the same growth trajectory has sustained even post-Covid and despite global recession.
Moreover, between 1997-98 and 2002-03, when India faced recession, Gujarat's per capita income grew at 2 per cent per annum. But after 2003 and when Namo was at the helm of affairs, Gujarat could grow at the rate of 10 pce cn per annum.
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