New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday repeated his debate dare to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that Modi will not remain in office after a one-on-one exchange with him.
Responding to a question during an ‘Ask Me’ session on Instagram about why he was insisting on a public debate when the BJP has said that the exchange can take place in Parliament, Gandhi said he was not allowed to speak in the House, and his microphone was even switched off.
“You did not let me talk on the farm bills, vote chori, SIR, China, on (Gen) Naravane’s book, Epstein. I want a one-on-one debate. I don’t want a debate entailing long speeches,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
“I want that Narendra Modi makes allegations against me and I do the same to him. He can come; there will be a table, on one side there will be Narendra Modi ji and on the other side, it would be me,” Gandhi said.
He added that he had no objection if Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani or RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was appointed as the judge for the debate.
“But I guarantee that the prime minister will not remain the PM after a one-on-one debate with me,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi has repeatedly challenged Modi to an open debate and earlier claimed that it would take him just five minutes to establish that the prime minister was a “traitor”.
The BJP leaders have scoffed at Gandhi’s challenge, alleging that he has been running away from debates in Parliament.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that while Gandhi is asking the prime minister to choose the venue for a debate, there already exists one in Parliament and called on him to show “some seriousness and responsibility” as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.