Even as Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said all the issues pertaining to the state will be discussed during the debate on November 1 called by him, opposition parties accused him of diverting people’s attention from the real issues through the hype over the all party debate.

The CM, however, said the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is very keen on the debate on the burning issues of Punjab between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and leaders of opposition parties on 1 November at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Mann on Monday said that since November 1 is Punjab Day, there will be a detailed discussion on all the issues of Punjab. “We want to debate with the opposition, not just on SYL, but on all the issues pertaining to Punjab,” he said.

The CM said since the formation of Punjab on 1 November 1966, it is very important for Punjab to debate how Punjab’s agriculture has deteriorated and how agriculture has become a loss making business.

He said today Punjab is struggling with water problems, hence we will also discuss water issues and how Punjab’s water was looted.

“Apart from this, we will also discuss in detail the problems of drugs, how the drug mafia became dominant in Punjab and how the youth were trapped in the drugs quagmire,” Mann said.

The CM said today the youth of Punjab are going abroad in large numbers. “After all, what is the compulsion that they have to leave their country and go abroad? We will discuss that too,” he said.

“Every day the Opposition parties bring up something new to attack the government, due to which a lot of time is wasted, hence we thought that instead of bickering every day, it is better to speak openly on the issues of Punjab. There should be a debate so that everything is clear to the people of Punjab,” the CM said.

Questioning the CM’s intentions, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab president Sunil Jakhar on Monday said that Mann is running away from his responsibility to protect the interests of the state and diverting people’s attention from the real issues.

Addressing a press conference at Ludhiana today, Jakhar said: “We are worried about this, but instead of worrying, the Chief Minister is distracting people’s attention.” He said everything regarding the debate is being run by the AAP high command in Delhi.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) urged the CM to decide the modalities for the proposed 1 November debate as well as its agenda by holding a meeting with representatives of all parties.

Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party said it was “extremely unfortunate” that the CM was trying to divert attention from the debate by alluding that the SAD was afraid of participating in a debate with the ruling party.

The SAD said the CM should tell Punjabis if AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal would participate in the debate “as he holds the remote control and is responsible for approving all government decisions in Punjab.”

Mann had earlier dared Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal for an open debate on issues concerning the state.

So far, only Jakhar has expressed his openness for the debate but suggested a three-member panel to steer the debate.