BJP Nominates Its Youth Wing VP Abhinav Prakash, Who Hails From Raebareli, To Debate Rahul Gandhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday (13 May) nominated its youth wing leader Abhinav Prakash to take on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for a public debate.

In a letter addressed to Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka BJP leader and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) chief Tejasvi Surya said that the BJYM has "deputed" Abhinav Prakash to debate with the Congress leader.

Surya said that Abhinav, the national vice-president of the BJYM, is a young and educated leader from the Pasi (SC) community, who are around 30 per cent, in Rae Baraeli, the seat from where Gandhi is contesting.

"It will be an enriching debate between a political scion and a common youngster who has come up the hard way," Surya said.

The announcement came a day after some retired justices had written to Gandhi and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week inviting them to a platform for a debate on the Lok Sabha election issues.

Accepting the invitation, Rahul Gandhi said the nation expects the Prime Minister to participate in it.

Turning down the debate invitation, BJP said that Rahul Gandhi did not have credentials even within the Congress, and hence, PM Modi had no reason to debate with him.

"Firstly, the person who does not have the courage to contest against a normal BJP worker in his so-called castle, should refrain from boasting. Secondly, who wants to sit at level with PM Modi and have a debate? I want to ask him if he is a PM candidate of the INDIA bloc," said Smriti Irani, who is the BJP candidate from Amethi, the seat which Rahul Gandhi lost to her in the 2019 elections.

Now, the party's youth wing has deputed Abhinav Prakash to debate with the Congress scion.

In his letter, Surya said, "Dear Rahul Gandhi Ji, BJYM has deputed Abhinav Prakash, National Vice President of Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha, as a BJYM's representative for the upcoming debate".

"We eagerly anticipate your acceptance, setting the stage for what promises to be a historic debate between the scion of a political dynasty which has ruled India for the longest time since independence and a commoner representing the new India of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi," it added.

Surya, in his letter, also pointed out that Abhinav Prakash hails from Uttar Pradesh, a state Gandhi has previously represented in Parliament.

"Additionally, he is from a Dalit caste, Pasi, which makes up the significant proportion of over 30 per cent of the scheduled caste population in Raebareli. This is the very constituency your family has long represented and where you are a current electoral contender," Surya said.

"An alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University and an assistant professor of economics at Delhi University's Ramjas College, with previous teaching stints at SRCC, his profound understanding of social, economic, and political dynamics is poised to enrich the debate significantly," he added.

Note: Abhinav Prakash has been a contributor to Swarajya, writing on a range of topics including economics, society, and politics. His articles can be accessed here.