Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday accepted Congress leader V. D. Satheesan’s challenge for a public debate, intensifying political sparring ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls.
A day after Satheesan issued the challenge, Vijayan shared the LDF government’s “report card” on his social media handle, suggesting that the discussion could be based on the achievements listed in it.
Highlighting what he described as the government’s “A-plus” performance, the Chief Minister asked whether the opposition was ready to debate on those points.
Soon after Vijayan’s post, Satheesan confirmed his acceptance, saying he was ready for the debate at a time and venue decided by the CM.
"Now that the Chief Minister has said he is ready for a debate, he can decide the place and time. I will be there accordingly. Let the people decide the rest," Satheesan said in a Facebook post.
The development follows Satheesan’s criticism on Sunday that the LDF government had not constructed as many houses in the past 10 years as were built during the tenure of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. He also pointed out that detailed figures of various development projects implemented by different departments were available in replies given by LDF ministers in the Assembly and reiterated his readiness for an open debate with Vijayan on development issues.
With PTI inputs