Mayawati accepts Amit Shah’s challenge, says BSP ready to debate on CAA

LUCKNOW: Picking up the gauntlet thrown down by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, both the regional satraps – Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)  chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav – expressed their readiness to have a debate on the issue here on Wednesday.

While Mayawati said her party was ready to accept the challenge handed out by Shah over CAA, Akhilesh Yadav modified it by saying that he wanted to have a discussion over development.

Union Hime Minister Amit Shah, at a rally in Lucknow on Tuesday, had challenged Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and other opposition leaders to
have an open debate over CAA.

In fact, the BSP chief was the first one to react to Shah’s challenge by taking to Twitter on Wednesday. In one of her posts, the BSP chief said her party accepts the challenge and was ready for the public discussion over CAA/NRC/NPA at any forum and at any place.

“The government, disturbed by protests against the controversial CAA/NRC /NPR, in the entire country, especially the youth and women, has challenged the Opposition to debate on the matter. The BSP accepts the challenge to debate on it at any forum and at any place,” Mayawati tweeted.

Meanwhile, SP president and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s retort to Shah came on Wednesday when he said that he was ready to debate with the BJP but the issue, he added, would be development.