Delhi polls: Kejriwal invites Shah for public debate

AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal invited Union Home Minister Amit Shah for a public debate on any issue on Wednesday, saying the people of the national capital wanted to know why should they vote for the BJP in the February 8 Assembly polls.

He also wondered why the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not clear the roads near Shaheen Bagh, where a public protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) is going on for nearly two months, and said the saffron party was doing "dirty politics" over the issue to grab power in Delhi.

The people of the national capital wanted to know what had the BJP done for Delhi in the last five years, Kejriwal said, seeking to know why the saffron party was opposing free schemes for Delhiites.

He said Shah was seeking people's votes saying he will decide who will be the next chief minister of Delhi.

"How can the people of Delhi give you (Shah) a blank cheque? They are not fools," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor said.

"I want to invite Amit Shahji with an open mind and honesty for a debate on any issue before the people of Delhi to make democracy strong.... He can decide the time and place for the debate," he said.

On Tuesday, Kejriwal had challenged the BJP to declare its chief ministerial face for Delhi by 1 pm on Wednesday and said he was ready for a public debate.

"I ask Amit Shah that if his party does not want to declare the name its chief ministerial candidate, he should at least tell the names of the likely candidates. Whether Smriti Irani, Manoj Tiwari, Vijay Goel, Hardeep Singh Puri are the likely chief ministerial candidates," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"You (Shah) are telling people that the Centre has abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution and paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple. People have already voted you (BJP) to power for this (in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls)," he said.

Kejriwal added that the BJP had fielded 10 chief ministers of states ruled by the party and 70 Union ministers for campaigning for the upcoming polls to defeat a small person like him.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to polls on February 8 and the results will be declared on February 11.