Mumbai : NDA candidate from Maharashtra's Worli assembly constituency in Milind Deora on Friday invited sitting Worli MLA and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray to have an open debate with him on Mumbai, Worli and Maharashtra.'
Aditya and Deora are contesting against each other from Worli in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls. In a post on X, Deora posted a video where he said, "Aditya, it's been already 24 hours since I invited you to debate me on Worli, Mumbai, and Maharashtra. The people of Maharashtra deserve to know, in which direction Maharashtra is headed economically and in terms of law and order, where is Mumbai headed towards infrastructural development, and where is Worli headed in terms of local issues like the Mahalaxmi race course."
On reacting to an earlier post of Aditya Thackeray where he stated that anyone who is scared of a rival candidate is not worthy of any public forum, he urged him to choose any journalist of his liking and have a debate on MVA's and Mahayuti's track record.
"During the Lok Sabha election in 2024, you said someone who is scared of a rival candidate is not worthy of any public forum. I urge you to choose any journalist of your liking and let's have a debate on MVA's track record and Mahayuti's track record. On MVA's vision for Worli, Mumbai, and Maharashtra vs. Mahayuti's vision for Worli, Mumbai, and Maharashtra," he said.
"If you really believe in the democratic ideals that you profess, I invite you to have a debate," Deora said to Aditya through his video message. Earlier on May 12, this year, Aditya Thackeray said in an X post, "Someone who is scared of an open debate with rival candidates is not worthy of being in any public forum, the Parliament being the highest."
"Between yesterday and today, two events where citizens (part of 2 ALMs/RWAs/citizen associations) could have watched South Mumbai candidates debate face to face and be asked questions by the citizens have been cancelled. The cancellation was last-minute, apparently by the police, one in the name of 'fear of political workers clashing' and the other for the timing of permissions," he had said.
"Has it come to this that civil debates won't be allowed by agencies? Their duty is to prevent untoward incidents, not prevent debate. South Mumbai MP Candidate @AGSawant ji was ready and is ready for the debate and open questions. Guess who is using agencies to cancel these debates?" he had said.
"Someone who is scared of an open debate with rival candidates is not worthy of being in any public forum, the Parliament being the highest. Chalo, let's have another go at it. This is South Mumbai's tradition of debates. Will it happen again, or will the police be told to say it is worried about clashes? We promise absolutely no clashes," he had added.
The campaigning has intensified for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) making efforts to woo the electorate. The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, and counting will be held on November 23.
Earlier on Wednesday, Milind Deora, directly challenged Aaditya Thackeray to a public debate. Referring to Aaditya's earlier comments, Deora posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Aaditya, considering you think 'someone who is scared of an open debate with rival candidates is not worthy of being in any public forum,' I invite you to have an open debate about the future of Worli, Mumbai & Maharashtra."
Deora proposed discussing issues such as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) alleged "30-year misgovernance," delays in the Mumbai Metro, and the economic impact of the Sachin Vaze scandal on Maharashtra. "Worlikars should decide whether 'speed breaker politics' or 'progress without speed limits' is the best way forward for our city & state," he added.