Even as the suspense persists over the participation of Opposition party leaders in the November 1 debate called by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab on Tuesday appealed to leaders of all parties to take part in the debate to be held at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

AAP Punjab chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said that the leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party are making excuses to back out of this discussion. He said this debate will focus on all the issues of Punjab.

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The CM has invited Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa to come on a common platform for the debate.

Kang said it will expose all the corrupt who looted Punjab, brothers-nephews, brothers-in-law who prioritised their personal interests. He said the debate will focus on toll plazas, youth, farmers, agriculture, businessmen, waters of Punjab and the words of Guru Sahib.

Kang said these leaders are trying to run away from this debate because they are not serious about the issues of Punjab.

Leader of Opposition (LOP) Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday said he and Punjab Congress president Warring were ready and prepared to participate in the debate but the CM should first work out its nitty-gritty, including the subject of discussion, format, time slots, moderator, jury members, and passes for the audience, by holding discussion with leaders of all the parties in Chandigarh and taking them into confidence.

The SAD today said that Mann was set to insult Punjab and Punjabis on Punjab Day tomorrow by creating divisions in the state polity and derailing the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue deliberately on the directions of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal.

SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said the CM first failed to call an all-party meeting to bring all parties together in order to save the loot of Punjab’s river waters.

Majithia also condemned the manner in which the Punjab Police was being misused to keep Punjabis out of the debate. He said the entire Ludhiana city had been turned into a cantonment with even the ongoing Sarus fair being held in the city being closed abruptly.

Majithia also condemned the manner in which passes had been distributed for the debate. He said each AAP legislator had been given thirty passes each for further distribution.

“It is unfortunate that the entire debate has been reduced to a public relations exercise of the AAP government which is aimed at diverting attention from the SYL canal issue and launching a slander campaign against the opposition,” he added.

Punjab BJP chief Jakhar said by inviting the leaders to debate and the Punjabis to participate, now the Punjab government is trying to prevent people from reaching Ludhiana with the help of police, so that someone comes to Ludhiana and exposes the failures of the government, which rests on the foundation of lies and hides behind the curtain of advertising. “Is Bhagwant Maan ji afraid to face the truth,” he asked.