Gujarat MLA and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani on Wednesday issued a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a four-minute debate on the achievements of his four-year-old NDA government at the Centre.
“I’m a Gujarati and he [Modi] is a Gujarati; I challenge him for an open debate on his government’s contributions. I’m sure he cannot speak as he has failed to deliver what he has promised,” he said.
Mr. Modi had challenged Congress president Rahul Gandhi at an election rally in Santhemarahalli on Tuesday to speak for 15 minutes in a language of his choice, without reading from a piece of paper.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Mevani, who campaigned for Darshan Puttanaiah, son of the late MLA, K.S. Puttanaiah’s son at Melkote constituency, described the Gujarat model of development as a “myth” and instead termed it “casteist” and “fascist”. “Let Modi talk on the model for four minutes,” he dared. Mr. Mevani, a strong critic of Mr. Modi, described the PM’s election rallies in the State on Tuesday as “dull” and “disastrous”.